The Prince and the Pauper A Marauder Story
by Britz1
Summary: Lily Evans is an orphan, befriended by James Potter, son of a rich MOM employee, and his friends. In the time of Voldemort's reign, Lily plays a part in it all. Ch. 13-Lily's out of commission for awhile, something's up with Remus, & James is...wise?
1. Tom's Plan and St. Bernadette's

The Prince and the Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Prologue: Tom's Plan and Chapter One:  St. Bernadette's Prologue: Tom's Plan 

            One dark and stormy night, a man (whose name had been at one time Tom Riddle) was sitting in his…lair. There really was no other name for it. It was dark, and in a cave for some odd reason. If truth be told, the former-Tom Riddle rather hated his…lair. He really needed to come up with another name for it. 

            But at that point, a name for his…lair was the least thing on his mind. Tonight would lead to unexpected glories. Tonight, he would finally be able to conquer all the Mudbloods-the "future witches and wizards of society that were brought up by Muggles" as his old transfiguration teacher had said. Tonight, he'd lead a series of attacks that would lead even his old transfiguration teacher quivering with fear. Tonight, victory would be his.

            And tomorrow. And the next. And the next week, month, year, and long afterwards.

            A small smirk played on his lips. He couldn't wait. 

            A knock on the entrance of his…lair was heard. Another wry grin appeared, and for once Tom Riddle was looking forward to company.

            "Come in, fool."

            A tall man donned with a cloak and mask appeared in the doorway of his…lair. 

            _I really need a better name for my…lair_ he thought yet again.

            The man silently came into Tom's…lair. He bowed low and kissed the hems of his robes.

            "Master," he greeted respectfully.

            "Never mind that," Tom snapped impatiently, "Get to your feet, idiot. Now! And tell me…how Mission Crack-Pot-Old-Fool went!"

            Sniggers were heard from one corner of Tom Riddle's…lair.

            "Operation Crack-Pot-Old-Fool? Where did they come up with that?" a voice rang out, and before Tom knew it, he was apparating away, with hopes of getting out of his…lair before the Aurors got to him.

            It was an hour or so before the man and Tom Riddle returned to Tom's make-shift lair-no, Head Quarters, he quickly corrected himself. Super villain he might be, but the migraines that came from word games were inevitable to anyone, Devil's Right-Hand Man or not.

            Tom was still cursing himself for letting a stranger find his…lair-no, head quarters. But stupid Tom Marvolo Riddle was not, so he wasn't worried of being tracked down. Certain curses certainly prevented any…disagreements any enemy of his had. He'd look to the prisoners later. Tom turned his attention back to the pitiful excuse for a Death Eater in front of him. 

            "Milord, we have…been successful," he said, trying not to shudder at the look in his Master's eyes. It was of pure fanaticism, utterly full of…well, it couldn't be joy; joy referred to a pleasant thing. And the look in (the former) Tom Riddle's eyes were anything but pleasant, or good.

            They were full of evil.

             "So you have it? The Mud-blood List? You dunderheads have managed to retrieve it?"

            "Yes, Master, we have…so, you mentioned a reward?" the servant asked.

            "Yes…" Tom Riddle said. "Yes…"

            So Tom Riddle took out his wand and murmured two words…I'm sure you all know them.

            "Avada Kedavra," the spell was cast, and the servant, Gunther Snape, was dead.

~*~

            It was only an hour later that Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort to most, was able to get his hands on that List. And once he did, he began The System. One by one, each Muggle-born child on the waiting list to get into Hogwarts was killed. The ones in Hogwarts would have to wait until summer vacation. 

            Only a few Mud-bloods were left on the List. The next was…Lily Evans. Daughter of Mr. Scott Evans and Mrs. Rose Marie Evans. Sister to Petunia Evans. First showed signs of magic at…Tom almost choked on the cappuccino he was drinking (hey, even evil bad guys need some caffeine sometimes). This Evans girl first showed signs of magic at the age of 7 months and 4 days! That had to be some kind of record. No Mud-blood did that, unless they were…well, powerful. 

            Really powerful.

            He needed to eliminate Lily Evans. And he would do so now.

~*~

            Mrs. Rose Marie Evans was standing her kitchen, waiting impatiently for the lasagna to finish cooking. The toss salad had been done for almost an hour, and the Italian bread was still warm from being freshly baked. The only thing she was waiting on was that stupid lasagna.

            Rose sighed. She really hated cooking, and the fact that it was her husband's 'Congratulations-For-Being-Promoted-Dinner' made her feel guilty for getting so frustrated. She cocked her ear in the direction of the nursery and listened. True, her youngest daughter, little Lily, was now six (Rose's eyes teared up at that thought; she wasn't a baby anymore) she still kept her inside that nursery. Rose knew this was probably complete denial, but she couldn't help it. But getting back to the story, Rose cocked her ear. She didn't hear anything, which could be taken as a good or bad sign. 

            "Petunia? Lily?" she called in the general direction of her daughters. The eight-year old Petunia looked up from where she was reading Peter Pan to Lily on her bed. Lily's eyes were filled with joy as her elder sister read to her about Wendy, John, and Michael.

            "Second star to the right, and straight on to morning," Petunia read carefully, making sure to pronounce the words correctly. Rose smiled. Her daughter was so proud of her newly found reading abilities.

            "Can they really fly, Petty? Can they?" Little Lily asked, and Rose chuckled as Petunia answered, "Of course," as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

            Rose finished dinner and went to her room. She got dressed up in an elegant black dress she hadn't worn in awhile. True, it no longer was as stunning at it had been, but between the last time she'd worn it and now, she'd had two children. Which was a legible excuse in Rose's eyes. When she was done, she set the dining room table. She made sure to use only the best china she owned; candles were set out strategically to give the room a fancy yet loving ambiance. 

            "Are you home, Rosie?" a voice called from the front door. 

            "Yes, dear. I'm in the dining room," Rose called, and gathered up her girls and seated them in their chairs on either side of the table. She opened the dining room door and greeted her husband.

            "All this for me?" Scott Evans asked his wife, and smiled.

            "Of course. Now come, let's eat," she said.

            "Mummy, I have to go to the loo," Petunia said.

            "Go ahead, darling," Rose answered, and she got up and sighed as her father impatiently tapped his cheek. She went over to him and kissed his cheek quickly. She then hurried to the bathroom. As Lily got up as well, Scott smiled.

            "May I have a kiss first, my Lily?" he asked as she ran out the room, and Lily sighed and imitated her sister by giving him a quick kiss.

            Unbeknownst to them, it'd be the last kiss either daughter would ever give their father.

~*~

            "Are the plans in order?" Tom Riddle, A.K.A. Lord Voldemort asked his servants.

            "Yes, Master," One in particular had the nerve to say. 

            "You…into the light. Be quick about it!" Riddle snarled.

            The servant did as told.

            "Your name?" Tom Riddle drawled.

            "Black, Master. Procyon Black."

~*~

            Rose and Scott were wondering what on earth was taking an eight and six year old so long to use the bathroom when a sharp rap was heard on the door.

            Scott sighed and said, "One moment, love."

            He walked over to the door and pulled it open slowly. 

            "May I help you?" he asked, eyeing the strange man before him, all clad in black.

            "Where's the girl? The younger-Lily?" 

            Now, Scott Evans was a sensible man. He believed in the whole 'you respect me, I'll respect you' system. As long as you played by the rules, you'd get along famously.

            He also had a knack for when something wasn't quite right. Or someone.

            So the moment he laid eyes on him, Scott knew something was wrong. Very wrong. And demanding to see one's youngest daughter doesn't earn anyone brownie points.

            So, in both a very brave and very stupid manner, Scott Evans said quite simply:

            "No."

            And, in reply, Tom Riddle\Lord Voldemort said in an equally simple tone:

            "Avada Kedavra."

            Scott Evans was dead.

            Wondering what was going on , Rose came into the hall and gasped at the sight of her husband laying on the ground.

            Tears poured down her face in a tirade and she looked up at the responsible man.

            "Have you know compassion? Have you…no…shame?" she gasped, and broke down completely.

            _This'll be an easy one_ Tom thought, and quickly muttered a Levitating spell. He dumped the corpse of Scott Evans in the dining room and Rose followed him into the dining room.

            "You're husband didn't give me the right answer to my question. Answer incorrectly and you'll join him," Tom said icily. 

            "What do you want?" Rose asked quietly, not even meeting the man's eyes. Usually a firm believer in looking in one's eyes and speaking clearly and firmly, Rose couldn't abide by her own morals. She couldn't fathom how this had happened. In her mind's eye, it simply hadn't.

            "Where is your daughter? Lily, the smallest one. Where is she?"

            "What?" Rose asked, not understanding why this-this _thing_ wanted something from her.

            "Where. Is. The. Child." Tom said, gritting his teeth. He knew he didn't like Muggles. Stupid, incompetent fools, all of them.

            "Where is who?" Rose inquired. At this point, Tom lost his patience.

            "Hand me over the girl, the redhead, **now** woman, or suffer the consequences!"

            Rose Marie Evans in all her thirty five years had been proud to say how normal and organized her life was. She knew she had sturdy shoulders and a firm head on them. But at that point, she completely lost it. She started to laugh until she collapsed on the floor, next to her dead husband. 

            Tom Riddle looked at her, and for once, showed a sign of sympathy. He killed her.

            Now, of course, that isn't normally a known sign of sympathy, killing a person. But it would be argued in many years in the future, a generation or two down the line, that he had shown the tiniest, smallest bit humane by granting her the mercy of death.

            Tom Riddle was about to search the upstairs when a dozen Aurors popped up in front of him. A dozen more were behind him, and he knew more reinforcements would be arriving in a moment. So he did the thing only he would think of. 

            He took out a box from his pocket, opened it, grasped the key inside of it, and disappeared.

~*~

Chapter One:  St. Bernadette's 

            "No! Get away from me, please! Not my Mummy! Pet-Petty…no…Daddy! No! No… no…."

            Sari Lettmen sighed. What time was it now? She looked at her nightstand at the digital clock. 2:30…. its later then usual, she noted.

            "Please, no! Stop…. please, stop. No, not me! No…."

            Sari quickly slipped on her fuzzy pink slippers. She walked over to the second bed by the door-Lily Evans' bed.

            "Shh, Lily. It was only a dream. You'll be fine, Flower. It was only a dream," Sari whispered comfortingly.

            "No, Sari, it was Him. It was _not_ a dream…" Lily murmured through a barrel of tears.

            "Yes it was, Flower, only a dream. You're okay," Sari tried to reassure the shaking 10 year old-well she was almost 11 by now, only two days until her birthday. Ever since she had first arrived at the orphanage almost 5 years ago she had been like a little sister to Sari. The small red-headed girl had been like a beacon of hope to all the girls in room five when she had first arrived at St. Bernadette's, always smiling and laughing.

            Lily was recently waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares…Sari had taken it upon herself to look after her, but she was so upset when she looked at Lily. No one knew how her parents had died. They had been found on the dining room floor, all dressed up, with a look of terror in their eyes. Lily's older sister Petunia wasn't found. Lily never spoke of  it, but Sari had a yearning to mention it to her, though she never did. 

            Actually, now that Sari thought of it, until recently, she hadn't had a nightmare "week" since October. Almost a year ago. Other than that, it was the normal nightmare, one night only, that occurred to every child in their childhood. Then again, most children dreamed nightmares full of monsters, and scary teachers. Not of death.

            Lily sobbed again, and Sari immediately returned her attention back to her. 

            "It's not a dream, and it's not okay!" Lily whimpered, "I saw Him."

            At that Sari sighed. Lily was convinced that a tall, dark haired man was responsible of her parent's deaths. She was convinced that a man named 'Tom' had done it, and that he had red eyes. Which, Sari patiently explained to her each time the whimpers started, was ludicrous. No one has red eyes. Lily, of course, refused to back down on it.

"Sari, can't you get her to quiet down? It's the fifth night in a row!" Donna Bosley complained. "I need my beauty sleep!"

            "Ms. Doufahn  is sure to come yell at us!" Megan Tanner whimpered.

            "It's true! And you know what happens when Ma'am Dofahn gets mad! She…" Tracy Kryben began.

            "Always blows her button and we have to do dishes and go on errands, we know Traci!" chorused all of the girls giggling-well except for Anastasia Ronsably, who could sleep  through a hurricane.

            Megan was somewhat of a scaredy cat-she was terrified of Andrea Doufahn, the orphanage's owner. Yes, she was the infamous matron of St. Bernadette's Home for Girls. Not that she was a nasty person, just a stickler for rules.

            Donna was one of those snobby girls who got upset when waken from her "beauty sleep." And Traci… well how can you begin to describe her? She's a thirteen year old girl who desperately needs to get a life. She has about a hundred sayings that she uses everyday without fail. By now all the girls in the dormitory had gotten to know her quite well.

            Both Megan and Anastasia are 13 years old, just like Traci. Donna was fourteen, which makes Sari oldest in room 5, at fifteen, and Lily the youngest at 10. Well, 11 in two days.

            "Do I hear voices at 2:30? Do I hear giggling? And why is that?  Are we not clear on the rules at St. Bernadette's? Do we not understand that each of you are being taken in out of the goodness of my heart-you don't have to be here! Now what's the problem?" screeched-yes, you guessed it-Ms. Doufahn.

            Megan started to whimper again. Traci began to look all superior at knowing that Ms. Doufahn would yell, and that her saying was proved true yet again. She got like that often. Donna just looked bored, and Sari hugged the sobbing Lily closer to her. Anastasia was still sleeping, snoring like an elephant I might add.

            "Well, hell_o_. Answer me, my ladies," Ms. Doufahn said dramatically.

            "Lily had a bad dream," Sari explained quietly.

            "Again?" Madame Doufahn asked, annoyed.

            "Yes, she was crying and…" Sari was cut off.

            "And while I'm sure this is all quite _sweet _and _endearing,_ are we NOT clear on the RULES here at St. Bernadette's? BEDTIME means SLEEP and if you DON'T it means D.E.'s!" Ms. Doufahn shouted loudly.

At this Anastasia did wake up (which was nothing short of a miracle). Lily started crying again and Megan gave a startled yelp.

            "Well, you know what this means…" Ms. Doufahn said in a much more calm, dignified voice.

            At this, all six girls groaned.

            "D.E.s for everyone!" she cackled sounding slightly like a mad woman. For some reason she called dishes and errands "D.E.s" as though they were some sort of treat. She tended to come up with odd  punishments, but D.E.s were the worst. First, she would make you clean dishes for all three meals of the day. Which wouldn't be too bad, if it weren't for the fact that they almost always had messy food the day they cleaned. After that, be prepared for a day of running up and down blocks, stairs, and streets to deliver and fetch knick-knacks for Ms. Doufahn. It was never anything useful, nor did either task require thinking, but the girls at the orphanage hated D.E.s all the same.

            "All right, girls. Get started! Now!"

~*~

A/N:  Well? How'd I do? Yes, this was my first fanfic ever. I tried to make this as interesting as possible, but I really had to get out all this boring info. about Lily's childhood out of the way before I begin the actual story at Hogwarts, so I did this at the beginning.  She'll find out about being a witch soon enough, I promise. Please review!

Disclaimer:  This is all mine! Everything! Really! Hehe, I wish! Lily belongs to the brilliant goddess J.K. Rowling. Gunther Snape, Ms. Doufahn, Sari Lettman, Traci Kryben, Donna Bosley, Megan Tanner, Anastasia Ronsably and the storyline are all mine-really! I'm NOT kidding right now, honest!!! I borrowed a tiny bit of the beginning from Annie, the movie/play etc. The title, The Prince and the Pauper, also does NOT belong to me, but to Mark Twain.

Newly Revised A/N: Well, here's the new & improved chapter 1 complete with prologue! Actually, the prologue is longer than the chapter, but I like it better now. Hope you all like it…I tried to make it less-Annie-like, but for any newcomers along the way – the story **does** get better, as I think any reader of this story would agree with me. 

Thanks for reading!

***Britz***


	2. An....Interesting Experience

The Prince and The Pauper

The Prince and The Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter 2:An…Interesting Experience

Lily sighed. Finally! They had finished the breakfast dishes, and the lunch ones.And of course Ms. Doufahn had the cooks make waffles and syrup for breakfast and sloppy joes for lunch.She couldn't make it easy for them, oh no…

"Look you guys, I'm sorry 'bout this.It's my fault we have to do this," Lily apologized.

"It's alright, Flower" Sari answered with a sympathetic smile.

Lily smiled gratefully at her. Sari was Lily's closest friend-her caretaker too.Sari had called Lily "Flower" since she had arrived at the orphanage.

"All right, my ladies, time for you visit to Mr. Potter" she said dreamily.The girls giggled.Ms. Doufahn had a huge crush on Mr. Potter, who would each time tell her politely that he was NOT interested.They wondered why she bothered sending the orphans, it was clear she wanted to see him herself.

Mr. Edward Potter was St. Bernadette's financial supporter.His wife Marianne had been the founder of the orphanage, before she had died seven years ago.Lily never met Mrs. Potter but Sari told her all about the kind, beautiful lady who had ran St. Bernadette's.

"All right, I need you to bring Eddie-I mean Mr. Potter the thank you cards all of you made.Oh, and the monthly report, of course.Right now see that you're back by 3:00, you have an hour to get there, talk politely, and get back. Now scoot!" Ms. Doufahn said.

"Yes, ma'am," the girls chorused obediently.

The six girls walked out of the door and waited until they were out of Doufahn's sight before talking.

"That is so not fair!" Lily's green eyes were burning with indignation.

"I know, Flower, but when is "Madam Doufahn" ever fair?" Sari answered.

"Well, Lily, I'm glad we're going!" Donna said suddenly, startling them all.

"Why?Mr. Potter is creepy! I'm telling you, once I saw someone in a painting move!" Megan said.

"Nonsense! Don't let your imagination run away from you, Meg. Paintings don't move. Don't be an idiot." Anastasia replied.

"Now, 'Stasia, that wasn't very nice!" Traci reprimanded, "And you know what I always say,"

"Golden rule, girls, be nice to someone, they'll be nice to you!" Anastasia, Megan, and Donna all finished Traci's sentence.

"Yeah, and the Silver rule is 'Be nice to someone, unless they aren't to you, in which case insult 'em, and knock 'em out!" Lily added.

"Hey! Who're you to make fun of me, crybaby?" Traci asked menacingly, quite uncharacteristically.

"Girls! Calm down! We never let Don finish her sentence anyway." Sari said, eager to take Lily's mind of Traci's insult. Knowing Lily, her temper would've gotten away with her and the so-called 'Silver Rule' would've come true.

"Well, I was going to say at least we're away from Ms. Doufahn!" Donna said.

"Hey, we're here!" Lily yelled.

And sure enough, they were.Mr. Potter must've made a lot of money, as his "house" was really a 4-story mansion, complete with tons of property.

Lily cautiously walked up to the huge front door and rang the bell.

Ding, dong! The doorbell echoed throughout the block. The girls shivered nervously.

"Hello? Now who are these lovely ladies that I'm so lucky to be acquainted to?" a black, messy haired boy with glasses answered the door, looking eager to see them. He couldn't have been more than eleven.

Donna answered for all of them.

"Hi, we're from St. Bernadette's. May we speak to Mister Edward Potter?" She asked.

"Of course. Please, do come in," the boy answered, looking slightly disappointed, "Sirius! Where'd you go?"

"Here, Jamsie boy! Who's at the door? Ah, lovely ladies, may I introduce myself?I am Sirius Black, the wonderful, brilliant, stupen-"

"-dous idiot! I'm sorry, ladies. Please excuse Sirius here, he isn't exactly right in the head.I'll go ring for Father."

"Father???" all six girls asked in surprise.

"Yes, I'm Edward Potter's son.James Harrison Potter to be exact, though I never am.But do hold on, he's in his study."

He grabbed Sirius by the wrist and bowed politely to the girls.

"Please wait here one moment.I'll go inform my father of you presence," James said.He started up one of the grand staircase. He stopped when he noticed his friend wasn't following him.

"Sirius, NOW," he said sternly, yet when Lily looked close enough she swore she could see a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, Sir James, right away.But if you're ever around this part of town, do stop by, ladies.Now the name's Sirius Black, that's Sirius, S-I-R-I-U-S, and Black, B-L," he began playfully.

"We know how to spell black, we're not stupid. Do hurry though, we have to be back at St. Bernadette's within the hour. Unless of course you're interested in doing D.E.s for us?" Lily answered sarcastically.

Sirius, although not sure what 'D.E.s' were, looked at Lily in disbelief.You could tell he was normally a girl-charmer and not used to someone contradicting his (however absurd) statements.

Lily, being a redhead, tended to have the fiery temper that comes with the hair. She never stood with the rubbish people tried to pull, and had no patience whatsoever.

"Yes madam, will do," James answered, this time his amusement was apparent, "I've never seen anyone quiet Sirius here down so quickly." He said with complete awe and respect.

"We'll hurry on now, wait right here," James (and Sirius, still gaping at Lily in disbelief) walked quickly through a door that closed with a small bang.

"Well, that was…interesting," Donna said. And all of them nodded in agreement. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's Note:Well, here's the second chapter. I just wanted to clarify a few things. The title, The Prince and the Pauper, is just a name I liked. It makes sense, James being rich, and Lily being…well, poor. The ONLY reason its used is because I like the title, the actual story, The Prince and the Pauper, has absolutely NOTHING to do with my story. If anyone has a better title suggestion I'd be glad to consider it. Next chapter Lily & the orphans meet Mr. Potter. After that chapter gets out, Lily can find out about magic.

Thanks SOOO much to the people who've reviewed my story so far:

Wind'd Tyg'r

Scarlet_Meteor

Meg-abeachbabe

Fizzy

Hmm

Sorry if anyone was missed that was all who I've seen before I typed this chapter.

Disclaimer:James Potter, Sirius Black, and Lily Evans all belong to J.K. Rowling. The Prince and the Pauper (title) belongs to the guy who wrote the book, I can't find the book right now so I can't really help you there.

So what **does** belong to me? You figure it out. Or go to chapter one and see for yourself the list of characters I've made so far.

Thanks,

***Britz***


	3. The Mysterious Mr. Potter

The Prince and the Pauper

The Prince and the Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Three:The Mysterious Mr. Potter

Lily couldn't have agreed more with what Donna had said.The two animated boys could keep anyone interested for hours on end.She could've sworn James Potter had reminded her of someone…. and did Madame Doufahn know that Mr. Potter had a son?She certainly hadn't known, and by the looks on the other girls' faces they hadn't known either. 

"Well, they were a bit…strange," Sari said quietly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, well what can you expect from someone who was raised in a house like this? Did you see those paintings in the hallway?And all the doors creak too," Anastasia replied.

"Oh! You don't think the house is haunted, do you?" Megan asked.Her shoulders were trembling.

"Well, I heard from Lindsay-you know, the girl in room 3? Well she heard from Margaret who heard from Dana who heard from Octavia who overheard Sandy talking to Jane who heard from…"

"Now, now Donna. You know what I always say about rumors!" Traci began.

"Rumors, rumors are no fun. Rumors always hurt someone!" all of the girls sang in a sing-song voice. They burst into giggles.

"Well, well, well.What have we here?" A tall, mysterious man with dark untidy hair was in the hallway.

"Hello, sir.Am I correct in assuming that you are Mr. Edward Potter?" Lily spoke up in an oddly formal voice.The rest of the girls looked too scared to speak.

"Yes, young lady, you'd be correct, though I advise you not to assume.It can go terribly wrong at times.Now who might you be, and pray tell what your business is here at The Garden?"

Seeing their confused faces, he explained, "My late wife used to say this house was too big not to have a name.She loved flowers, said they had hidden meanings.But the point is that she named the house The Garden."

"Sir, my name is Lily Evans, and I'm from St. Bernadette's.These are my friends and roommates, Sair Lettman Donna Bosley, Traci Kryben, Megan Tonner, and Anastasia Ronsably.Madame Doufahn sent us here to give you thank you cards and a letter," Lily told Mr. Potter.At Lily's words, Sari handed the man the letter and cards.

"Thank yous? For the curtain I donated?Well, that's rich," he murmured under his breath, "Madame Doufahn is too much.Sometimes I wonder why I don't give her a chance, she certainly would cease to amuse me."

At the orphans' horrified expressions he laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not that desperate," he chuckled.

"Well, sir, we should be going," Anastasia started to say.

"Already? Nonsense, we haven't had tea.I'll ring for it now." Mr. Potter said in a manner-of-fact tone.

And ring he did, quite literally. Scarcely a moment later a man dressed in a suit and (for some strange reason) a flowered apron was at the door.

"Charles, just the man I was looking for.I'm going into the lounge with these ladies.Bring us some tea," Mr. Potter commanded.

"Of course, Mr. P! Shall I call for Master James and Master Sirius, or is this a private affair?" Charles asked, a twinkle in his eye. 

He had a thick American accent, and a big smile. Lily liked him immediately. He wasn't rude, nor was he intimidated by Mister Potter at all (which was more than she could say for some people, she noted with disgust).

"No need to do that, but please feed the cat, and see to the tea," Mr. Potter responded. 

At that Lily giggled.Quietly at first, but then she couldn't contain it any longer and burst out laughing.

"Madam Evans, whatever is so funny?" Mr. Potter asked her, clearly amused.

"It rhymes! 'Just see to the tea' and 'No need to do that, but please feed the cat' Hey Mr. Potter, you're a poet and you didn't even know it!" By now Lily was choked up with laughter. (A/N: Sorry, but I had to include the whole poet and you didn't know it rhyme, it's pathetic, I know. Bare with me peoples).

"That is quite funny, Ms. Evans, though I didn't catch your name.Mr. P, how did you manage to keep you wonderful talent from me all these years?" Charles asked cheerfully.

"Her name is Lily, Charles, and could you just bring the tea?" Mr. Potter responded sharply, but his eyes betrayed his rough manner.He led the girls into a fancy room, which smelt like roses.Everything was a soft pink color, except for the white furniture. 

After they were all seated, Mr. Potter began to speak again.

"So, have you met my son?" he asked.

"Yes, he was quite polite.He answered the door for us," Sari replied.

"Did he now?So then I'm guessing you had what might've been an unfortunate encounter with James's best friend, the delightful Mr. Black?" he asked, looking at the girls keenly.

"Yes we did.Sorry to say that I can't describe him and our conversation at polite.Though he's really just a big talker.No, make that a talker, as I managed to quiet him with a single comment," Lily laughed.

"Really? That's a record.Nobody can manage to get our Sirius to close his mouth normally, not even James though they spend enough time together. What on earth did you say? No, wait I don't want to know.Ahh, Charles, the tea," he indicated a spot on the round coffee table.

"Put it right there, Charles, thank you so much," Mr. Potter said, taking a sip of tea.

"No problem, Mr. P.Master Sirius has just left, his port-I mean car departed a moment ago.Master James is moping already," Charles reported.

"Already?Surely his life isn't that dull?Well, either he can walk these ladies home or he can finish up that book I'm having him read.Oh, and please alert Margo of the changes we discussed in tonight's menu.That will be all."

After Charles left, Edward Potter turned to his guests.

"I'm afraid, mademoiselles, that it is time for you to leave.If Andrea asks why you were gone for more than an hour, tell her I wished for it to be so.Thank all the girls at St. Bernadette's for the thank you cards; the curtain was my pleasure.I will notify Ms. Doufahn on the letter later this week.If you ever get the time, do stop by again.You're always welcome.I've had a good time, I must say," Mr. Potter said, in an almost regretful manner. 

"Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Potter.I had a great time…maybe we should get in trouble more often if this comes out of it," Lily answered enthusiastically.

Mr. Potter laughed, "My dear Lily, you never fail to amaze me.This was supposed to be your punishment, huh?Don't know what you could've done.It was very nice to meet you Ms. Evans.Now go, and visit me soon!" he gently patted her head and showed her out of the door.

James came around the back of the house just as they were leaving.

"Just wanted to say goodbye. I have to work to finish so I can't accompany you home."

"Maybe next time.Goodbye James.Nice to meet you, and do say "hi" to Sirius when you see him," Lily smiled.

The girls walked away slowly.

"Ooh, that was such fun!" Donna exclaimed.

"It wasn't that scary," Megan admitted.

"At first it turned out bad, but then it was great.You know what I always say…" Traci began.

"Give everything a chance or two," the girls chorused.

"Well, I was thinking of 'Don't judge a book by its cover' but that expression will suffice," Traci said.

Sari took Lily by the hand as they crossed the street.She (Sari) had a troubled expression on her face.

"What is it, Sari?" Lily asked curiously.

"What? Oh, it's nothing, Flower, nothing," Sari said quietly, still looking troubled.

The other girls chatted on the way to St. Bernadette's but Lily and Sari remained quiet.

"Did any of you know Mr. Potter had a son?" Sari asked all of a sudden, making them all jump.

"No, I don't think any of us did," Anastasia shrugged.

"Doesn't anyone else find that odd?" Sari asked, looking very frustrated.

"Sure, Sa, but maybe he just never had the need to mention James.We've never seen him around, so maybe he goes to a boarding school," Lily answered quietly.

"But he's so young.And that, along with the pictures, the rumors…" Sari's voice trailed off.

"Calm down, Sari, with a rich father like Mr. Potter he probably went to boarding school his whole life.Now as I was saying…" Donna continued chatting with Anastasia.

"Come on, Sa, let's just get back to St. Bernadette's," Lily replied gently, and Sari agreed.They walked the rest of the way home in silence.

Author's Note:So, here's the third chapter! You think Sari's beginning to suspect something? And was Charles about to say 'portkey'? And why on earth do the pics move? Find out next chapter! Oh, and Lily will probably-no make that WILL find out she's a witch.I hope everyone is clear about the title thing, if not see Chapter 2 (An…. Interesting Experience).

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN LUVLY ENOUGH TO REVIEW!*!*! That people like this story! I'm amazed. I'll try to get the next chapter out either later today or tomorrow, I'm not sure if I'll have the time though. L But, back to my long-lost point.I LUV ALL YOU REVIEWERS, I'LL REVIEW YOUR FICS TOO, JUST PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING!

Thank you to:

**Aurora** *^* Brilliant? Really? Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it!

**Fizzy** *^* Thanks for reviewing once again. So you stuck with it, huh? Hope you

enjoy this chapter too.

**Onecoolann** *^* Glad you loved the story. I just wish this chapter is good too ::looks

hopeful:: yes, no???

**Xaviera Xylira ***^* Yes I did write more! Please don't start hysterically cryin! Wow, I 

luv you so much right now, you're enthusiastic review meant sooo

much to me! Thanks!

**Myrddin Emrys** *^* Glad you like this! Hope you read (and like) this chapter too!

**Black Sparkles** *^* Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you were happy w/ my fic. 

**Potters chik** *^* HiLaRiOuS? (sorry, just felt like typing like that) That was odd…I 

Never knew I was funny…if you review again, (and I hope you do) can you tell me what part was funny? I'm so thrilled you thought that…wow…

Naavi *^* I saved you for last cuz I have a bit to say.Sorry you're review got cut off…I 

Think it got cut off again, actually. L Sorry! You were really excited I wrote 

something? So you really did appreciate my reviews? Oh! Thanks sooo much!

I luv your stories too! You really have to get chapter 14 of Lily's Problems up 

Soon! You rock girl! Oh, and I put you on my fav. author list, just to let you 

know. I agree with you about the "tomorrow" song…Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer:Sari Lettman, Anastasia Ronsably, Megan Tonner, Traci Kryben, Donna Bosly, Ms. Doufahn, Charles (I LuV that guy!), Mr. Potter's character, and some other misc. stuff belongs to me, the rest goes to the brilliant goddess, queen of the reading world J.K. Rowling, so please don't sue me! I have nothing!

Thanks 4 Reading!!!

***Britz***


	4. I'm a WHAT?!?

The Prince and the Pauper

The Prince and the Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Four:I'm a WHAT?!?

The next day passed uneventfully.The day after, however, was Lily's 11th birthday.Lily herself was walking to her next class, math.She was rather nervous, as she had forgotten to study for a test.Too busy with her anxieties about the class, she crashed into someone.

"I'm sorry…." The words died in her throat.Looking down at her was Ms. Doufahn.

"I was just looking for you.Come, you have a visitor," The matron explained in a soft voice.

Quite surprised that she wasn't getting any D.E.s for running into Ms. Doufahn, Lily nodded.When she got to Ms. Doufahn's office, none other than Charles (Mr. Potter's butler) was waiting for her.

"Charles!" Lily exclaimed, very surprised.

"Ah, Ms. Evans!"

"Lily, please," Lily responded, "And good morning Charles."

"Morning, Ms. Lily.It seems that Mr. P. got a letter concerning a private school that has accepted you for next year.He wishes to speak to you about it," Charles explained.

"Wait, wait, wait.When you said 'private school' did you mean 'boarding school'?" Lily asked, all of a sudden looking very anxious about something very different than a math test.

"Yes, Miss Lily.In Scotland, I believe. Mr. P. will explain everything at the Garden," Charles answered gently.

"Hold on a second.Lily is one of my favorite orph-I mean girls.I insist on going with her," Madame Doufahn said sharply.

Lily was pretty sure that wanting to go to Mr. Potter's with her was more about seeing him rather than accompanying her, but she kept quiet.

"Very well, ma'am," Charles patiently said.

"Good. Than we'll be on our way," Ms. Doufahn sighed happily.

"Yes, to the car then.Oh, and Happy Birthday, Miss Lily," exclaimed Charles.

"Thank you," Lily said, putting on a false smile.She didn't even realize that she hadn't told him-or anyone besides her roommates for that matter-when her birthday was.She still was a bit dazed.A boarding school?She hadn't applied to one, so how had she been accepted?Sure, she hated the orphanage, but like it or not it was her home. 

'I don't want to leave Sari and the others' she thought.

Charles escorted Lily and Ms. Doufahn to a black limousine that was waiting outside St. Bernadette's.

"So Charles, will James and Sirius be at the Garden?" Lily asked attempting to make conversation.

"Well-" he began.

"What's 'The Garden'?" Ms. D. interrupted.

"Mr. Potter's house.Now, will James or Sirius be there?" Lily snapped impatiently.

"Master James will certainly be home, though Master Sirius wasn't there when I left, so I can't really say, Miss Lily.Master Sirius tends to come and go as he pleases.The Garden is his second home, so to speak.He knows it better than I do and I've been there since before Master James was born! Master James certainly appreciates his company if you catch my drift," Charles answered her question.

"Well, that's good!At least I can see James," Lily said.

"Who's James, and Sirius?Who are they and why does Lily know and not me? Inform me of these people at once!" Ms. Doufahn demanded.

"Ma'am, Master James is Mr. P's-" Charles began before being interrupted yet again by Andrea Doufahn.

"Mr. P?As his servant," she spat out the word, "Shouldn't you have more respect? Or is that above you bloody American's heads?" Ms. Doufahn asked maliciously.

(A/N:*makes cat noises* Rude! Just a bit overprotective of Mr. Potter, don't you think? Oh, and please don't think I have anything against Americans-I'm a New Yorker all the way! Or against British people, this is just on nasty woman, k? Good! Okay, on with the story)

"Well, Madame, as I've known Edward Potter longer, and I'm closer to him than you'll ever be, I clearly have an acception, now don't I?You know, Mr. Potter doesn't like nosy women! I highly doubt you'll hear what he has to say to Miss Lily.And, as I was saying, Master James is Mr. P's son," Charles frowned in disgust.He sounded extremely angry (and who wouldn't be???).

"Eddie-I mean Mr. Potter has a son?" Ms. Doufahn asked incredously.

"Yes, he's my age," Lily replied.

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Ms. Doufahn asked, recovering from her shock.

"Maybe he doesn't trust you enough," Charles shot back, obviously still offended by the orphanage's matron's words.

"You great big prat! Why wouldn't Edward trust me? I'm his choice for the keeper of St. Bernadette's, and I'll be his wife someday. I'm sure of it!"

"In your dreams!" Charles laughed.

Before Ms. Doufahn could respond. Lily coughed loudly.Both adults jumped, having forgotten she was there.Before either of them could say another word, they had arrived at Mr. Potter's mansion.

"Well, I hope you all had a nice ride over?" Mr. Potter greeted them.

At that Lily started to laugh but covered it up with a cough (she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately).

"Why, hello Ms. Evans! Happy Birthday! How are you doing this morning?" Mr. Potter asked Lily, looking very happy to see her.

"Hi Mr. Potter, I'm good. How are you?" Lily asked, though not with her usual spunk, Edward Potter noted.

"Well, I'm just great though I don't think you were truthful to me just a second ago," He said.

"Lily! I demand you tell Mr. Potter the truth!" Ms. Doufahn said, horrified.

"Calm down, Andrea.Lily is unhappy about something, it isn't a problem," Mr. Potter said, laughing a bit, "So, what's the problem, Lily honey?" He asked, kneeling before her.He couldn't explain why, but he seemed so attached to her ever since he met her two days ago.

I don't want to leave Sari and Donna and Megan and 'Stasia and Traci…." Lily sniffed, trying to hold back the tears that she knew were coming.

"Oh, Lily dear, if you do decide to go you'll meet tons of new friends.Let's not worry about that now, all right? Good.Which brings me to some serious business…" Mr. Potter began.

"Did I hear someone say 'Sirius Business?" a loud, giddy voice rang out.

Two dark-haired boys slid across the hall's highly-polish marble floor.

"Boys!" Mr. Potter said sternly.

"Sorry, Ed, but I couldn't resist," Sirius smiled a hopeless grin.James was in hysterics on the floor.Lily was giggling too, cracking her first real smile since she found out about the 'boarding school' (though she really didn't know too much about that).

"Come on now, Sirius, that puns getting a little old by now!" James said when he could finally speak.

"Yeah, but you know its still funny!" Sirius exclaimed in a winning way. 

"Hilarious as it might be, we have guests here Sirius," Mr. Potter said.

"Sorry Father," James apologized, though he was still grinning.

"It's fine, but greet our guests now," Mr. Potter responded.

"What? Oh! Hello, Lily, Ma'am Doufahn.Pleased to meet you, Madam.Nice to see you again, Lily. Oh, and Happy Birthday!" James added.

"Happiest Birthday Lily! In fact I'll sing you a song!" Sirius grinned evilly.

He cleared his voice and sang:

_Happy Birthday To You_

_(doo-bi-doo, doo-bi-doo)_

_You Live in a Zoo_

_(live in a zoo-a zoo)_

_Oh, you Smell, smell like a monkey!_

_(pee-yew)_

_And you-look _

_(oh you look)_

_Like! _

_(just, just like)_

_One! _

_(o-----one)_

_Toooooooooooo_!

(The lovely insert parts were done by James, Sirius sang the main part!)

"Why! I could kill you!" Lily said, a maniac grin on her face.She started to chase him, and skinny or not, she was pretty damn fast, a whole lot faster than Sirius anyway.Mr. Potter and Charles looked on in amusement, James was having hysterics (again), and Ms. Doufahn looked embarrassed at Lily's behavior.

"Lily! Stop that nonsense at once!" she exclaimed.

Lily skidded to a halt. "Yes, ma'am"

Mr. Potter cleared his throat. 

"Time for business. James, Sirius, go bother some other innocent souls. Charles, why don't you take Andrea on a tour of the Garden? Lily and I have something very important to discuss," He said, in a no-room-for-arguing kind of voice.

"Yes, Father," James sighed.

"Don't give me that, James!You were miserable enough before Sirius was here, one would think you'd be able to come up with a few things to do now!"

"Like putting your socks in tonight's soup?" Sirius asked, smirking.

"Yes, like putting my socks in tonight's-Wait! No!" Mr. Potter said, realizing what he was saying.Charles chuckled.

"Go entertain yourselves. Oh, and Sirius?" Mr. Potter asked.

"Yes, Ed?" Sirius asked angelically, a look that really didn't suit him, Lily thought.

"Don't go ANYWHERE near the food, understand?" Mr. Potter said, leaving no place for disagreement.

"OK, Mr. P. Come on, James, I've got an idea…" Sirius and James left the room whispering excitedly.

"What am I going to do with those two?" Mr. Potter murmured to himself.

"I'll go take Ms. Doufahn on her tour, Mr. P," Charles announced.

"Good!" He answered.

"Oh, Eddie, don't you think I should be able to hear what you have to say to Lily?" Ms. Doufahn asked in a silky smooth voice.

"No. Come, Lily," Mr. Potter stated simply, leaving Andrea Doufahn gaping like a goldfish.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

When Lily and Mr. Potter were safely secured in his office, Mr. Potter indicated for Lily to sit down.When she did so, he took out a thick parchment envelope with green ink written on it.The address clearly stated:

Ms. Lily Evans

2nd Bed from the door, Room 5

St. Bernadette's Home For Girls

London, England

(A/N:I'm not British, I don't know how they write addresses in the U.K. so bare with me and pretend that's correct, k?)

"What's that Mr. Potter?" Lily asked curiously.

"This, m'dear, I you're acceptance letter into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"What??? Is this some sort of joke? There's no such thing as witches and wizards. And what kind of a name is Hogwarts?" Lily asked, shaking her head as if indicating that Mr. Potter was crazy.

"Well, I don't know what kind of name it is, but as for the witches and wizard thing…" he trailed off there, and carefully revealed a long, wooden stick from his desk draw.

"This, Lily, is a wand.11½, Evergreen tree wood, 1 dragon heartstring and fairly flexible, if I remember correctly.You see, Lily, you're a witch.I got this letter for you because, well….I'm a wizard.I'm fairly important in the wizarding world, actually.Head of the Auror department at the M.O.M," he said proudly.

"M.O.M?" Lily asked, looking dazed.

"Ministry of Magic.Aurors are wizards and witches who fight off dark, evil wizards….and witches too, of course.I'm quite famous as an auror, which is why I have this huge mansion.But that really is besides the point.The fact of the matter is, you're a witch.You need to learn how to use your powers, which is why you'll be going to Hogwarts.Best school of magic in the U.K, Hogwarts is.A great place too.You'll love it there, I did."

"Wait a tick.Who says anything about me going to this Hogwarts place? And haven't you been listening? MAGIC DOESN'T EXIST! IT'S MAKE BELIEVE!" Lily yelled.

"Is it? Than how can I do this?" Mr. Potter asked, bemused.He quickly turned his desk into a tiger, a hula hoop, a giant toothbrush, a bar of soap, a coffee mug, a French poodle, a pair of pink polka-dotted underwear, and then a lily flower, which he handed to Lily.

"You see, Lil, you're a witch, you have magic in your blood. No use denying it, it won't go away. Magic is already part of your life, no matter how hard you try to hide it. Which is why you'll be going to Hogwarts," Mr. Potter said in a matter-of-fact tone (he's very commanding, isn't he?).

"So, I'm a witch? And I'll really be able to do that thing where you change things?" Lily asked in a daze, beginning to get excited. 

"Yes, you're really a witch.So is James. Well, a wizard I mean," he added hurriedly, "And that magic was called transfiguration. It'll take a while before you can do something like that, but eventually yes, you will be able to do it."

"So, when does Hogwarts start?" Lily asked, finally getting used to the idea of the magic school.

"September first.In a couple of weeks…what's today, August 3rd? Yes, not too long now.You'll have to go to Diagon Alley. That's where you'll get your school supplies.I'll take you and James one week from now.Now listen," he all of a sudden got very serious, "You musn't tell anyone about magic! Not Sari, not no one! Not even Ms. Doufahn! I'll take care of her, but you can't let the muggles find out about magic, do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir. What're muggles?"

"Non-magical people, Lily, that's all. Well, I suppose you should be getting home. This will give you a lot to think about.Now remember, in a week we'll go to Diagon Alley.Have a great birthday!" Mr. Potter smiled.

"Thanks, I'll show myself to the door. Say bye to James and Sirius," Lily said.

And with that she turned and waltzed out the door of the office, through the 'Forest of Marble' (as she christened the Great Hallway) and out the front door to where Madame Doufahn and Charles were waiting to take her home.

She could tell that Ms. Doufahn and Charles were trying (and failing) to look natural, but whenever one thought the other wasn't looking they'd shoot dirty looks at eachother.

Lily thought to herself: 'Wow, I'm a WHAT?!?" The realization just sinking in of what this meant.

'I'm gonna go learn magic? But I'm having problems with algebra!'

**Author's Note:**Hey everyone. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT FANFICTION.NET HAS BEEN DOWN FOR SO LONG!!!! I was trying to get this chapter out LAST FRIDAY! Can you believe how long this took? I can't! I was so upset that I couldn't update or review anyone's fics for soooo long. *I was screaming at the computer trying to get it to work* Anywayz, here's the FOURTH CHAPTER! I'm sorry about what happened with the whole-messed-up-chapter-thingy-ma-bob.I'm pretty sure I fixed it, so hopefully you're all not confused.Um…well, Lily found out what she was (finally, I know).Next chapter she'll go to Diagon Alley, and if I'm in the mood for a long chapter she'll also get to Platform 9¾, though don't count on it, I'm not that good. I'll try to get the next chapter up either tomorrow, or the day after. *I was screaming all night at the computer trying to get it to work*Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to those who reviewed! Muchas gracias! I'm sooooooo happy! ::fights back tears:: wow, people like my stories…incredible…anywayz, thanx to:

Jilly_Chan *^* Of course I wrote more! I'm obsessed with Harry Potter, I don't have a choice! Thanx for reviewing!

Juliana Black *^* Woo, slow down girl! You've got more now, don't kill me! Hope you luv this chapter!

Lilygirl *^* one of the best! Just one? J/K! Wow, I'm glad you thought it was so good! Hope this chapter's gr8 too!

Fizzy *^* Wow, you've reviewed all my chapters so far! I'm glad you think its super! Keep reviewing!

MagicismyName *^* I was in the middle of your story when the comp. failed. Its great so far! Thanx for reviewing!!!

Astri *^* I hope this is soon for the chapter being out! Thanks for the wonderful review, hope you check this chapter soon!

Black Sparkles *^* Another one who's reviewed all my chapters so far! You're awesome!

Zipperhead3 *^* OMG, I luv you! My story's on you fav. list! Wow! You're the 1st one that did that as far as I know! Thanks ever so much!!! Hope this chapters good too! 

**Disclaimer:**You know the drill by now.All orphans, Ms. Doufahn, actions/appearances of certain characters etc. are all figments of MY imagination.If you recognize something, guess what? ITS NOT MINE! Mwhahahaha! ::Coughs:: Ahem. Anywayz, JKR owns all the good, impressive stuff, not me, sue me and DiE!

Thanks, As Alwayz, For Reading! Now Do Be An AnGeL and review!*!*!

***Britz***


	5. In Which Lily Tells Sari & Co. and Goes ...

The Prince and the Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Five:  In Which Lily tells Sari & Co and Goes to D.A.

          (A/N: The extended title is: In Which Lily Tells Sari & Co. and Goes to Diagon Alley, Meets the Twins, and Scares People With Her Psychic Ability, but that was too long!)

          It had been a week since Lily had found out she was a witch.  She still had trouble believing it, though when she thought about it, she had been able to do some things that certainly wouldn't count as normal.  Not at the bottom of the list, accidently turning Ms. Doufahn's nose purple…the memory of it still was enough to bring tears to the orphan's eyes.  When she had looked in that mirror….

            Being a witch was the last thing on her mind, however, on the bright Sunday morning.  She was yet to tell Sari that she was going to boarding school.  She winced at the thought of what Sari's reaction was going to be when she found out that Lily hadn't told her right away.  Speaking of which, the tall brunette came running down the hall.  Lily took a deep breath. Today, she was going to tell Sari today.

          "Sari! How are you? Can I help you? Do you want me to make your bed for you? I just realized that I never did pay you back for making mine, when was that, last Tuesday?"

          Sari gave Lily an odd look.

          "Lil? That was over a year ago. Are you feeling okay, hun?" Sari asked, looking concerned.  She couldn't remember the last time Lily had acted like this.

          "Me? I'm fine!"

          "Alright, I may not be that smart, but I'm most definitely not stupid! Now tell me what's wrong Flower?" Sari asked gently, but very firmly.  

She turned on that power that she seemed to have being the oldest in their dorm.  It was like a silent agreement:  Sari was the leader. No one argued, or competed for the position.  It wasn't a huge honor, or a big deal.  But that's the way it was.  And just then Lily felt the "leadership aura" around Sari.  Lily took a deep breath.  It was now or never……

          And quite frankly, never was looking more and more appealing by the minute.

          "Lily, what's going on? Tell me, and tell me RIGHT NOW!" Sari lost her temper.  Lily was like a sister to her, but also a best friend.  And when she didn't tell Sari something-and obviously something important-it got her very upset. Very, very upset.

          "Is it something I did? Are you failing a subject? Did you get us all D.E.s? Wait! I know! You were adopted, weren't you? Oh….oh my…" Sari trailed off.

          "No! No, Sari, that's not it…" Lily said, but Sari was on it again.

          "Yes, you were. And this is great. It's great, right? Yes, of course it is.  It's better, its fantastic. You are going to have a family. That's great…it is…" 

          "Sari I want you to look at me. Straight in the eye. Right now. I am NOT being adopted." Lily said.

          "You're not? You're sure?" When Lily nodded, she smiled and wiped away tears, "Thank goodness! We're not going to be separated! Thank God!"

          "Well, I wouldn't go THAT far…" Lily added, smiling nervously.

          "What on Earth do you mean?" Sari asked.

          _"Come on Lily, you can do it…all you have to say is: Sari, I've been accepted into a boarding school. And I'm going. Just leave out the whole magic part, the whole Mr. Potter part. Is it that hard? Yes it is…" _Lily thought. 

          "Well?" 

          "Sari…I've been accepted into a school. And I'm going." 

          "So? I mean, congratulations and all, but why would you be so nervous about that?" Sari asked, looking confused.

          "Well, there IS a catch…it's-it's a boarding school. In…er…in Scotland." Lily stammered.

          Sari's smile faded faster than a blink of an eye.

          "What do you mean 'boarding school'?" said Sari, in what Lily thought was probably shock.

          "Um, well its pretty easy. I'm going to a school in Scotland. It's for the whole year, but I'll be back in the summer," Lily answered.

          "YOU'RE WHAT?!?" Sari screamed.

          "Girls! What's going on? What is this screaming about? You should know better!" Ms. Doufahn came storming down the corridor.

          "It's nothing, ma'am. Just telling Sari that I'll be attending a boarding school this year. That's it. Now, if you'll excuse me, ma'am, I must get to lunch," And Lily walked away quickly.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

          "Well, that went well. I just had to tell her now…couldn't have waited. At least its over with…"

          "Who ya talkin' to?" A little girl came bounding down the hall.

          "Hello Bridget. I'm not talking to anyone Bridget. Good bye, Bridget," Lily replied, and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Bridget was a new transfer orphan from the US. She wasn't that bad, but way too nosy. And loud-very loud. Oh, what am I kidding? I should be thanking God that she's not in my dorm!

          "Hey Lily!" Donna ran to catch up with her.

          "Hi Don. What's up?" 

          "Sari came running into the dorm crying! I wonder why…"

          "Oh, I'm sure its nothing," Lily squirmed guiltily, "Listen, tell all the girls that we're having a meeting tonight in the dorm, 'k? I have something to announce."

          Donna shrugged. "Sure, I'll catch up with you later."

          "Bye," Lily started to skip down the stairs. The hardest part was over. And she'd be going school shopping tomorrow, which would definitely prove to be an interesting experience. She started to smile. Things were looking up once again.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~Later that evening~*^*~*^*~*^*~

          Lily looked around. Sari and Donna were both in the room-check, check. Anastasia had just wondered in-check. Traci? Yeah, she was in the corner. They were missing one person…where on Earth was Megan? 

          "Guys do you know where Megan is?" Lily asked.

          "She'll be here soon enough, and you know what I say about waiting…" Traci started.

          "Patience is a virtue, we know Traci!" Donna said.

          "Sorry I'm late, Lily, I had to talk to Doufahn…guess what?" She looked very excited.

          "What?" They all asked.

          "I'm being adopted!" Megan positively squealed, beaming.

          "Wow! Good for you, Meg!" Anastasia shrieked.

          "Congratulations, Megan," Sari smiled.

          "You're so lucky!" Traci looked at Megan in awe.

          "Nice job, Meg. I'm so happy for you!" Donna exclaimed.

          "Yeah, Megan. You definitely deserve it. But you guys, I have something important to say. And before you ask, no I'm not being adopted too," Lily said.

          She took a deep breath, "Guys, I'm going to a boarding school in Scotland."

          All the girls fell silent. It was one thing for Megan to be leaving, but Lily? The youngest of them, leaving?

          "I know I should've told you sooner, but I'm leaving September 1st," Lily finished in a rush.

          "Congrats, Lily. You'll meet a lot of new people…" Donna trailed off.

          "We're loosing two of you?" Traci looked heartbroken.

          "GROUP HUG!" Anastasia yelled, and all six girls toppled onto each other.

          Sari spoke, the first time in awhile, "Both of you have to write to us."

          "We will," they answered together. 

          And the girls all went to sleep.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

          The next day, Lily woke up very excited. She was going with James and Mr. Potter to get supplies from her new school-Hogwarts! She quickly got dressed and brushed her teeth and hair.  The whole morning she kept bouncing around…three hours 'til noon…two hours…one hour, just one…ten minutes…noon!

          Lily ran down the halls until she got to Ms. Doufahn's office.

          "Hello, Lily!" James came running towards her.

          "Hey James! Oh I'm so excited, I can't wait, when are we going? Where's your dad? Where is the place? How're we getting there? Did you know you were a-"

          "We're leaving in five minutes, my dad is downstairs, its under muggle London, we're driving to a place called the Leaky Cauldron, and yes I knew, but not so loud! No one's supposed to know what we are," James answered without missing a beat.

          "Hello, Lily, how're you doing today?" Mr. Potter smiled at her.

          "I'm fine, and you?"

          "Just peachy. Are you ready to go?"

          "Yes, yes, yes!" Lily shouted. 

          "Good! Then let's go!"

          The three of them went downstairs where Charles was waiting for them in the limo.  Lily's drive in the car was much more peaceful then her last drive in the limousine. 

          The drive passed by uneventfully, but as soon as the car stopped Lily was bouncing up and down again.

          "Oh my god…this is it…" she whispered.

          Mr. Potter led her through a pub called the Leaky Cauldron.  As they made their way through, people greeted Mr. Potter and shook his hand.  

          "Hello, Edward, is this your son?" one man asked.

          "Yes, it is. This is James."

          "He looks just like you, Edward!" The barkeeper replied.

          James was blushing but managed to hide it well. Lily figured he probably heard it all the time by now.

          "Ok, time to go…have to get James's and Miss Evan's books for school," Mr. Potter said after what seemed like an hour to Lily (who was getting quite impatient).

          They walked out the door and around back. Mr. Potter took out his wand and carefully counted what brick.

          "What's he doing?" Lily whispered to James.

          "Getting us in to Diagon Alley."

          And all of a sudden the wall turned into a beautiful archway. Shops aligned a neat street. People walked up and down, talking about the latest Quidditch Cup, and sales on dress robes.

          "What's quidditch?" Lily asked James.

          "Only the best sport there is! It's great, you fly on broomsticks…there's four balls too. Almost like basketball, but with 6 hoops and more balls, its hard to explain." James answered.

          "I can tell," Lily answered.

          Mr. Potter led them to a white stone building.

          "This is Gringotts, the wizarding bank. I'll set up an account for you. Then we'll head down to Madame Malkin's for robes, an apothecary to get potions supplies…what else? Oh, you'll need a wand, a cauldron, and your books, of course." Mr. Potter said.

          "Ok, me and Lil'll go get robes and we'll meet you at the book shop, Dad," James said.

          "Well…"

          "Don't worry, Mr. Potter, we'll be fine," Lily reassured him with a smile.

          "Ok, but if you're not there…" Mr. Potter warned.

          Lily and James ran to Madame Malkin's. Lily was fitted first, and while she was waiting a girl with light brown hair came running up to her and James.

          "Hey Jamsie!" she shouted.

          "Cass! How're you?" James asked.

          "I'm just spiffing, and you?"

          "Same," he answered.

          Lily coughed loudly.

          "Oh, sorry Lily. Cass, this is Lily Evans. Lil, this is Cassidy Figg," James said embarrassedly. 

          "Nice to meet ya!" The hyper girl said.

          "Likewise. So are you starting Hogwarts? And how do you two know each other?"

          "My dad is James's dad's partner at the B.A.S. Yes, I'm starting at Hogwarts this year.  Just like my lovely sisters," Cassidy scowled.

          "Ok, what's the B.A.S. and what's so bad about sisters?" Lily asked.

          "The B.A.S. is the British Auror Society (A/N: And also happen to be my initials lol) and its not so bad if you have one or two, but when you have five older sisters…and one twin sister…and one younger sister…" Cassidy trailed off.

          James smiled sympathetically, "Well, if your mom has another girl, at least it'll be your turn to pick a name, as your step-dad picked Em's."

          "Yeah, I guess." Cassidy grimaced.

          "You have seven sisters! That's a lot! What're their names?" Lily asked interestedly.

          "Let's see…there is Ariel who is 19, Briane who is 18, Courtney who is 17 and in her last year at Hogwarts, Allyson who is 15 and in her fifth year, and Bianca who is 13 and in her third year. Then there's me, and then there is my twin sister Arabella, and my younger sister Emily. My step-dad broke the whole A-B-C thing."

          "So there is eight of you? Your mum was busy," Lily joked.

          "Well, Ariel, Briane, and Courtney have a dad named Steve. The Allyson, Bianca, and Arabella and me were born with my dad, Lion. Then my mum got divorced and married to Frank, my step-dad. And since she always has at least three kids with one guy, you know she's gonna have another girl," Cassidy groaned.

          "Well, at least you have a sister. Mine died…well, disappeared, really, but we don't know what happened to her," Lily said. Cassidy looked embarrassed about her complaining, but Lily shook her head.

          "Don't feel sorry for me," she said.

          "So your real dad, step-dad, or your half-sisters' dad works with James's dad?" Lily asked.

          "My real dad. My half-sisters' dad died, and my real one just got divorced. And now there is Frank…" Cassidy said exasperated.

          "Well, you're done, my dearies," Madame Malkin sang.

          After saying thank you, the three kids went to meet James's dad at the apothecary.

          "So where are your sisters?" Lily asked.

          "Ariel and Briane are at work, they live on their own. Courtney is the head girl this year so she's meeting with the head boy, who happens to be her boyfriend. Allyson, Bianca, and Emily are shopping with my mom. Bella and I are meeting at the café next to the apothecary in…five minutes ago, great…" Cassidy murmured.

          Lily laughed. She smiled. She already had two friends, and shopping was great.

          "Cass, where've you been? I was worried sick! You are so irresponsible!" A girl who might've been Cassidy's clone came running up to them.

          "Relax, Bella, I was just talking to James," Cassidy explained.

          "Hi Bella, this is Lily Evans. Lily, this is Cass's twin Arabella, but we call her Bella."

          "Nice to meet you, Bella. Jeez, you and Cassidy look exactly alike!"

          "Call me Cass hun, or Cassie if you prefer. And we don't, I have violet eyes and Bella has blue!"

          "Big difference, Cass," James said, sticking up for Lily.

          "James! There you are!" Mr. Potter exclaimed.

          "Hi Uncle Eddie!" The twins chorused.

          "Hello there, Cassidy, Arabella," he smiled.

          "You know, I think you're the only one besides Frank," she spat out the name, "Who calls us by our full names," Bella said.

          "Well, since all your sisters had picked names for you all, and there was an extra twin, I named you Arabella. And Cassidy was one of my cousins, and I had to call her Cassidy, she'd get mad if we didn't."

          "Oh, and James and Lily, I got your books and potions ingredients for you, you only need cauldrons and wands and then a gift for you, Miss Lily, and then we're done!" Mr. Potter added.

          "You don't need to get me anything," Lily started.

          "Nonsense! You're like the daughter I've never had, you're getting something," he replied.

          "Well, if it helps you're like the dad I haven't had since I was like six."

          "Real touching Lil," James smirked.

          "Don't. You look sickeningly like Sirius when you smirk like that!"

          And since she said stop, he kept going, being the typical 11 year old boy he was.

          "Ok, come on you two, time for wands. You coming girls?" Mr. Potter gently broke into their argument.

          "No, we need to be heading back. We'll see you September 1st!" Cass called, and the twins walked away, arguing loudly.

          Mr. Potter chuckled, and directed Lily and James to an old store at the end of the Alley. The sign in the shop read "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C."

          The entered the shop, and a bell rang.

          The shop was very dusty, and had an odd feeling to it. Lily shivered, she was getting the goosebumps just by entering the store.

          An old, creepy man appeared in front of them.

          "Ah, Edward Potter.  11½ inches, Evergreen tree wood, 1 dragon heartstring and fairly flexible, am I not right?" the man, who Lily assumed was Mr. Ollivander, asked.

          "Yes, you're right sir."

          "That wand has put many man in Azkaban. Just remember, its not the wand or spell a person uses on another, but the person behind the wand who casts it. If the wizard is foolhardy, one can never blame a spell."

          He then turned his attention to James.

          "Ah, this is your son. James. Looks just like you. Let us see now James, which is your wand hand?" he asked.

          "Left, sir," James answered.

          "Let's see…you know its really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course. I can remember every wand I've sold, and I've never yet been wrong…let us see, Mr. Potter, why don't you try this? 10½  inches, phoenix feather, elm bark."

          James took the wand, but the second he had touched it, it was back in Mr. Ollivander's hands. 

          "No, not quite right. How about this one? Willow tree, dragon heartstring, 12 inches?"

          Once again, James had barely touched it when Mr. Ollivander pulled out yet another wand. 

          "No, that's not it. This one-evergreen tree, 13¾ inches, unicorn hair."

          James took it and waved it but Mr. Ollivander just shook his head.

          "Here, this is it. 11 inches, phoenix feather, mahogany wood, pliable. Excellent for transfiguration." 

          James took the wand and this time gold and scarlet sparks came flying out, along with a lily flower which was given to Lily who blushed.

          Mr. Potter smiled, and Mr. Ollivander clapped.

          "Well done! Now your turn, Ms. Evans."

          He asked her what her wand arm was (right) and went off to pick a box. Lily, however, walked right over to a box on a shelf and said, "May I try this one, sir?"

          He looked at her, obviously surprised.

          "Of course, m'dear."

          Lily picked it up and waved it. Sure enough, flowers and glitter came bursting out of her wand like a person who is drowning gasps for air.

          Everyone stared at her.

          "I haven't had a single customer get their wand in one guess since Albus Dumbledore himself!" Mr. Ollivander said, very amazed.

          "What sort of wand is it, sir?" Lily asked.

          "What? Oh! It is willow, 10¼ inches, unicorn hair, and swishy. Very nice for charms work," He replied, still in a daze.

          "Well, we'll be going now. Here's the Galleons. Have a nice day," Mr. Potter said.

          "What're galleons?" Lily asked Mr. Potter as they headed towards the cauldron shop.

          "They are a form of money. There is silver sickles, golden galleons, and bronze knuts. The galleons are the biggest. 17 sickles to a galleon, 29 knuts to a sickle," Mr. Potter answered, probably because James was staring into space.

          After purchasing their cauldrons, James led them to a Magical Creatures store. Mr. Potter insisted on buying Lily an owl, so she left the shop with a small reddish owl. (James insisted on getting an owl to match her hair).

          "What're you going to name it, Lily?" Mr. Potter asked.

          "You should name it Carnation. No, Violet. No, no, no, I've got it-Rose!" James joked.

          "Actually, I think I'll name it Rosalie. Would you like that girl? Yes you would!" Lily answered.

          "Great, now she's talking to her owl, she's gone mad," James muttered under his breath.

          "I heard that!" Lily exclaimed.

          "And I care, why?" 

          Mr. Potter laughed, "Kids and their lovers spats…"

          "Excuse me?" Lily said.

          "Nothing, m'dear, nothing at all."

          "That's what I thought."

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Author's Note:  I luv this section! Lolz. Ok, I have a lot to say, so stick with me here! I can't believe how long this took! I'm soooooo sorry!!! My computer wasn't working for the longest time, then ff.net was down, then for some reason whenever I was on MY computer I couldn't log in, so I obviously couldn't update. Then when I COULD login, it was on my aunt's computer, and as fate would have it, my work was saved on a different computer. I've been so upset, and obsessively trying to update since the end of October. I wanted to make a Halloween story (I still might), and then it was November 9th, and I was so happy: My one month anniversary of writing HP fanfic! (Yeah me!) The second thing is: I might submit another story (most likely either called Fame, or another called Stupid Cupid). So if I do: Look for it! I will try to update soon, but the earliest I'll be able to is Thursday, or if not then Saturday or Sunday. All of a sudden I'm busy every other day! On Wednesdays I have cheerleading til 5:30, then dance at 7:45, and you people don't care, do you? Oh, and I'm seeing my seventh Broadway play tomorrow, The Music Man, so I'm so psyched for that. 

A couple of questions for you readers, and answer me in a review: Do you want this to go throughout all 7 Hogwarts years? Do you want this to be love/hate? Longer or shorter chapters? And suggestions I'd be glad to hear! Ok, one last thing: You reviewers rock! You're doing WoNdErFuL! And I'm the one who isn't doing too well, I haven't been reviewing too many of your stories. I promise to use this weekend to review all of you great people's stories, I swear! Please, keep reviewing, I luv hearing any comment you've got! And here are those fabtabulous people:

Writer Angel *^* Ok, yes there is a tiny bit of Annie, but I think I'm loosing a bit of it with 

                             each chapter, so we're good! Thanks for the review.

Rachelle *^* I know this wasn't soon, but it really wasn't my fault this time! I hope you're    

                   reading (and loving) this chapter too!      

Fooley *^* Too cute? Thanx! I'll take that as a compliment! J

Trixie_the_Witch *^* Do you want me to write all seven years? And I loved that scene too! 

                                Charles is the best, you gotta admit! Lol. I love your pen name, btw!

Amy *^* Well, unfortunately you had to wait, but I hope you like this chapter too!

Fire Lizid *^* Here's more! Isn't Lil & Jay always so cute? J Of course they are! They 

                   happen to be my favorites, so I had to do something with them.

Destiny Phoenix *^* Oh my god, you're so sweet! I (unfortunately) don't have support 

services either, and I wish I could, but I can't really email anyone right now with chapters, but if it'll help, I'll try to review you whenever a new chapter is out and tell you, k? I'm glad you love my story!

Fizzy *^* You're so good! You've reviewed every chapter! Kudos to u! As for Love/Hate, you 

have to tell me if you want it or not, and I'll try to do what people want. Although, at this point unless something drastic happens, I think they're destined to be friends, not enemies.

Lil*Angel *^* Thanks for the cheers! ***\o/* **I'm a cheerleader too, so I luved it! Glad you like 

                   the story, thanks for reviewing!

Cquill13 *^* You have just earned yourself a HUGE hug! *Luvya*luvya*luvya* I'm so glad I 

made your favorite list! That's so rewarding, I practically cry whenever someone says that! Thank you sooooooo much!!!!!!

Unknown *^* Whoeva u are: This wasn't fast ::stupid computer:: but I hope its gr8! Thanks 

                   for your comment, review again if you can!

Stardust *^* So glad you loved it! Hope you check out this chapter too, and I believe I've 

                   read and reviewed at least one of your stories, they're great!

~Courtney*the*Idiot~ *^* Here's MORE MORE MORE! Oh yeah-you're welcome! ;)

Betina *^* Thank you for the review, here's more, and I hope you like this chapter!!!

Summersun *^* Thanks for saying its excellent! You really think so? J Thanks again!

Naavi *^* Hey girl! I got you're email, and don't u dare apologize for chapter 14 (which was 

awesome, btw). I totally agree with you about the way Lily usually gets letters, and thank you so much for the review! You rock!!!

Cassondra *^* Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like TP & TP so far! Keep reviewing!

Alara *^* I'm sure there is spelling errors, but come on, no one's perfect, I'm not an adult or 

English teacher! Once again, I think its getting farther away from Annie with each     chapter (thank God!). What does IMO mean??? Thanks for reviewing!

Thank you to anyone I might've forgotten!

I love all you reviewers! You're the best!

Luv Alwayz,

**         *Britz***


	6. Auntie Isabella & an Extremely Mad James

**The Prince and the Pauper**

**(A Marauder Story)**

Chapter 6: Auntie Isabella and an EXTREMELY mad James

*There are 2 words that aren't great for young children. You've been warned…*

Lily spent the rest of the summer reading her books…well, when no one else was in her room, as no one was supposed to know that she was a witch. At one point she thought of calling up Mr. Potter just so she could visit him and study in peace. But she never did, as she knew he'd just tell her to be patient. However, she was delighted to find a letter written to her from Cassie and Bella left in her mailbox (Each orphan had a mailbox). 

Dear Lily,

            How are you? This is Bella and Cassie! Yes, and Cassie. We're currently guests at the Potter residence Oh stop bothering her with your perfect English. We're staying at James's house for the rest of the summer! We wanted to know if you could stay at James's the night before school starts. We could have a semi-sleepover, James said he didn't mind as long as we keep to ourselves, typical boy. Supposedly he's "busy" but we're not too sure…Gimme the quill back! Sorry, but my twin's being impracticable which means impossible, by the way Lil, if you don't know Bella-talk. Do shut up, Cass. Anyway, do tell us if you can attend-alright, alright, as Cassidy is trying to hit me, tell us if you can come, by letter-I'm sure your infamous "Madame Doufahn" knows the Potters' address. That's a riot about her and Eddie, by the way. He'd never fall for someone like her. James told us all about her…you poor thing! Yes, we're feeling very sorry for you! But we have to go because Charles is ringing the dinner bell…ta ta! Hope to see you August 31st! 

                             Arabella Figg and Cass!

        Lily laughed as she read the letter. She felt like she had known the twins for years. Now there was only one problem-should she stay with the twins, or with Sari the last night before Hogwarts started? She knew Sari would be mad if she went to James's house, but she really wanted to. After all, she'd be spending a lot of her time at school with James, Cassie, and Bella. She had the right to get to know them, didn't she.

She groaned. Why was everything happening to her? She couldn't have a peaceful life, oh no. Now Sari was mad at her, the twins were counting on her coming, the other orphans were  practically crying over her leaving, and she couldn't make up her mind who to go to.

            "Oh well, better do this the logical way," she said.

            She dug into her pockets for one of the coins Mr. Potter had given her. What was it called? A galein? A gallon? A galleon? Yes, that was it! A galleon. She took it into her hand.

            "Ok, if you land this side I'll call it "heads", and I'll go to James's house. If it's the other side, "tails" I'll stay here."

            She took a deep breath and threw the coin up into the air. It flipped over and over and over until…it landed. 

"Heads up."

"Yes!" Lily cried in delight. She was going to Mr. Potter's! Which had almost become her home away from home, she'd been there quite a few times now. And James had been there, helping her learn things about the magic world.  It was really quite sweet of him, actually. He knew everything, he could have a good time, but instead he helped her. She should do something for him…but no time for that now. She had to ask Ms. Doufahn for Mr. Potter's address.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~August 31~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Lily was walking over to Mr. Potter's house. She really didn't feel like having Charles come fetch her in a limo. She really couldn't believe that tomorrow…well, she'd be going to a new school and learning magic. It was like a joke. I mean, come on, there's no such thing as magic…but then, she'd seen it, she went to Diagon Alley, watched Mr. Potter at his house. It was like a dream to her, the past month. Her birthday, Mr. Potter, James, Cassie, Bella, Diagon Alley, magic…it was practically a blur. Was she doing the right thing? She could still remember the crushed look on Sari's face when she told her about James and the twins. Almost like she thought that she was being betrayed, or replaced. 

"Well, she's going to have to get used to the idea that I'm leaving," Lily said at loud.

"Who ya talkin' to?" a voice said loudly right next to her ear.

"Ah! Oh, it's you." 

"Is that all the greeting I get?" Sirius Black grinned, pretending to be wounded. 

"I wasn't talking to anyone, Mr. Color," Lily snapped, her temper kicking in.

"So you were talking to yourself," Sirius nodded understandingly.

"Oh, so you do it too?" Lily asked.

"All the time!" he stated proudly.

"Where are you going?" he asked her after a minute.

"To stay with James. You?"

"Same," he said, and Lily groaned. 

"He had to be friends with you, any other person, just not you!" she complained. 

"Aw, come on, Lil. You know you love me!" Sirius boasted.

"As if. So, how come you're walking to James's? Doesn't Charles come pick you up?" Lily asked.

"Me? I come by Floo," Sirius said.

"Floo? You mean shoe? Like walking with shoes?" Lily asked, confused.

"No!" Sirius started cracking up.

"Ok, so you're just being…odd…" Lily finished helplessly, and started to laugh along.

The two of them walked together, laughing about various things, all the way to the Potters' house.

"So, you like Jamsie-boy Lils?" he asked casually.

"NO! Come on, Sirius, be real. He's my friend, and a good one at that."

"I'm serious!" he protested.

"I know you are," Lily said.

"Ok, that's getting really old," he answered.

"Yet I seem to remember you using that pun just a few weeks ago," Lily said with her eyes raised.

"Yes, well…I'm allowed!" He explained.

"Really now?" Lily asked.

"Uh huh. I can because of my rights from…er…the UCCEON club!" he recovered quickly.

"Ucceon?" Lily asked.

"Yup! The Unfortunate Children Cursed with Extremely Odd Names club!" Sirius babbled.

"You are the oddest person I've ever met," Lily laughed.

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment!" Sirius bowed.

"I'm sure you will," Lily said.

"You bet ya!" He said.

The two of them were still cracking up when they arrived at The Garden.

"What the hell are you two laughing about?" James asked, looking extremely pissed off.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked, stopping his laughter at once. He was one of the few select people who had ever seen James Potter this mad. James had always been good with putting on a facade. He never showed how he was feeling, unless around family or friends. Sirius supposed it had to do with him always being around aurors and M.O.M. officials. 

"You'll never guess who decided to just show up today," James said to Sirius, practically ignoring Lily.

"Who?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Auntie Isabella! The nerve of her! Just appearing out of nowhere! Takes one look at me and says, "Such a shame your mother died, now you have to live with the ugly brute. Sadly you look like him, poor child. I'm guessing you've not changed a bit since the last I saw of you," James said in a mimicking voice.

(A/N: Picture a woman around 45-50 who talks like: Shame ya mutha died. Ya fatha coulden rayse ya prop'ly dahlin.)

            "Auntie Isabella? The one who said I resembled my namesake and that you could keep better company and…" Sirius began furiously.

            "Yes! Oh, hi Lily. Bella and Cass are upstairs. C'mon Sirius, we've got to go…I don't know…hide!" James muttered in a panicky voice.

            "Yeah! C'mon, we gotta hide, not much time!" Sirius replied and the boys both ran out of the hall and into a long, dark hallway, still muttering about "hiding" somewhere.

            Lily laughed and headed up the main stairs. Hearing some raised voices, she crept towards them, hoping to find the twins. But as she got closer, she heard Mr. Potter and a woman arguing.

            "I know my sista wouldn't want James brought up this way. That child is the rudest thing! I greet him and what's he do? Runs away! I was amazed at his behavior, but then I realized with that Black child and you raising him, he'd probably turn out that way."

            "Why does he run away? Well that's a good question Isabella! He doesn't want to be in the same room as someone like you! You go around putting down his best friend, and his father, and you expect him to love you? Marianne would be proud of him for standing up for his best friend and his family!" Lily heard Mr. Potter shout, sounding furious.

            She tried to creep away quietly, but suddenly the door opened and Mr. Potter and a woman dressed in what looked like a satin dress robe and a fur coat. And since it was summer, she looked quite ridiculous! But if you looked pass the fur, she really was quite the sight. She looked like a rich and famous kinda woman. (A/N: Ok, for some reason I'm all of a sudden picturing Tattie from State of Grace, so picture her, 'k?)

            "Ah, Lily!" Mr. Potter said, his frown fading away when he saw her. 

            "Hello, Mr. Potter. I just got here and was looking for Cassidy and Arabella, and I heard voices, so I came over here, I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything," explained a frantic Lily.

            "Oh, think nothing of it Lily. This," Mr. Potter threw a dirty look at the woman, "Is James's mother's sister, Isabella Watson. Isabella, this is Miss Lily Evans, James's friend. She'll be starting at Hogwarts this year as well."

            "Nice to meet you, ma'am," Lily curtsied. After hearing this woman talk, she figured a little sucking up wouldn't do any harm.

            "Oh, look at this girl. Isn't she just the cutest _politest_ thing?" Isabella cooed, emphasizing the politest.

            "Yes, Lily is a wonderful girl. I'm sure she'll make a magnificent witch. Oh, and go through this door, there's another hallway, open the first door on the left, take a left turn threw that hallway, and there will be three doors in front of you. That's the guest quarters. Isabella is staying in the one on the left, and Arabella and Cassidy will be staying in the one on the right. You may either use the last room, or stay with them," said Mr. Potter.

            "What about Sirius?" Lily asked.

            "Oh, he has his own room. It's right near James's room. Cassidy and Arabella had the option of their own rooms, as we've known them a long time, but they insisted that they stay in the guest rooms. I've always wondered why, so if you find out let me know. Now go on!" replied Mr. Potter.

            "Ok, Mr. Potter. Nice meeting you, Madame Watson."

            Mr. Potter hid a smile at that. He knew what she was doing, and thought it was quite funny.

            Lily followed his directions, and found the twins in the middle of doing…something. She wasn't sure what.

            "Hello Cass, Bella. It's nice to see you again! Thanks so much for the letter!"

            "Lily! Come here, girl!" Cass cried and gave Lily a big hug. 

            "Just the person we were looking for. James told us about his predicament-"

            "Which means problem. Honestly, Bella, can't you just speak normal-person-ese?" Cass asked moodily.

            "Don't mind Cass, she's just upset because "Auntie Isabella" told her she had the grace of a 500 pound elephant," Bella explained.

            "Well, it's not my fault that Charles polishes the floors so much! They were very slippery!" 

            Lily laughed. "So, what're we doing for revenge?" she asked, eyes sparkling.

            "Oh, we are definitely going to get along…" Cassie smiled.

            "Here's the plan…" Bella grinned evilly. 

~*^*~*^*~*^*~Later that Evening~*^*~*^*~*^*~

            It was 6:00, and Charles had just rung the dinner bell. The three girls came into the room, Lily putting her lady-like act on, Bella smiling charmingly, and Cassie…trying not to trip while walking across the floor.  

            "Good evening, Mr. Potter, Madame Watson," Lily said.

            "Good evening, Lily. Really, Edward, I think Lily will be a good influence on James. And speaking of which, where is he and that friend of his?" Isabella asked.

            "Right here, Auntie Isabella," James called. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

            "Nice to see you again," Sirius said.

            "Pleasure's mine. Now James, isn't Miss Evans here quite the lady? You could learn a few things from her," said Isabella.

            Mr. Potter snorted into his wine. Cassie and Bella looked away before they could start laughing, and Sirius quickly turned his laughter into a hacking cough. James and Lily had both turned bright red, and were avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room, including each other.

            Charles, being the savior he was, walked into the room at that second, his eyes twinkling.  

            "Here is the soup, Mr. P. It's clam chowder, I believe. Margo's specialty."

            He started to hand them their bowls of soup.  When he got to Isabella's, he winked at the girls. James and Sirius, being the master pranksters they were, noticed this immediately. James gave Lily a questioning glance, but she mouthed, "You'll see," and smiled mischievously.

            Everyone started on their soup.

            "Well, at least you hired good chefs, Edward, though I'd expect less from you," she said nastily.

            All at once it happened:  Lily started to cough dramatically and fainted. Mr. Potter, Isabella, Charles, and the boys rushed over to her. The twins, meanwhile, put in hotroot, pepper, and some other spices. They then rushed over to Lily and put some cold water over her. She got up, and insisted it was nothing. 

            "Please, I just need to sit, and eat. I'll be fine."

            "Well, alright," Mr. Potter said uncertainly.

            Isabella took a sip of her soup.

            "Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she cried. 

            "What is it, Isabella?" Mr. Potter asked.

            "Hot!!!!!!! Hot, hot, hot!!!!!!!!!" Isabella screeched.

            "What do you mean?" Lily asked innocently.

            "The soup it's hot!!!!!"

            Everyone cautiously tried their own soup.

            "What on Earth do you mean? It's not hot at all. Are you going crazy, Isabella?" Mr. Potter asked, looking very amused.

            "Does my mouth look like it's crazy?" She asked, and opened her mouth. Steam came flying out, and Sirius exclaimed, "She looks like a dragon!" Of course, everyone (besides Isabella herself, of course) found it so amusing that they decided to call her Auntie Dragon-Bella instead of Isabella. 

            "I'm leaving!" She shouted, her face bright red.

            "Good!" everyone chorused.

            "Hrmph!" She snorted-yes, snorted-and stomped out of the house angrily.

            "Now, girls, that wasn't very nice…" Mr. Potter started.

            "Yes, but Father, it got rid of her for us!" James exclaimed happily.

            "Hey, I only said it wasn't very nice. Brilliant, yes. Ingenious, yes. Nice, no."

            Everyone laughed.

            "Thanks Lils! Thanks Cass! Thanks Bella!" James gave each of the girls a hug and grabbed Sirius arm and started to pull him, literally, down the stairs. Which could hurt someone if you don't know how, but Lily guessed that the two of them had been through that whole routine before.

            The girls hung out the rest of the night, chatting about various things. Lily told them some things that muggle teenagers do ("Why would you want to watch pictures on a big sheet?") and the twins taught Lily some magical things, like the whole concept of Floo powder ("So **that's** what Sirius was talking about!").

Before Lily knew it, it was time for bed.  She couldn't believe that this time tomorrow she'd be sleeping in a Hogwarts bed in her new room with new classmates, and roommates of course. She still couldn't believe that magic existed, and that she was a witch.  She couldn't believe she was actually leaving the orphanage. Or that she all ready had some great friends. But she could finally believe that she was happy with her life, and for once was able to fall asleep happily.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Author's Note:  I actually read a review where someone said "L/J authors have rights to long Author Notes." Whoever wrote that-it's true, because I always have so much to say. I didn't get a lot of reviews this time, and I have a feeling its because I posted late at night and the next day brought a HUGE bunch of new fics, so no one really noticed it.  So I think I only have 5 or 6 reviewers to thank this time. :( Oh well, better luck this time, eh? Well people, I saw the movie the other day! It was great, but soooooo different from the books! Anyone else agree with me? They changed and took out sooo much!!! It was still cool though, the actors/actresses were great. Anyway, on with information on my fic.  This is the longest chapter yet, I think. So to all those people who asked for it, longer chapters are here! And it only took like, what? 5 days, so that's not too bad, is it? I don't think so…anyway, I'm still not sure how long this'll get, it depends on your reviews! So tell me what you want! As for love/hate…I honestly don't think it'll happen in this fic, maybe my next one. Thanks guys! Hope you luved this chapter!!! :) 

**Hi ***^* Yes, I'd agree with the "asking too much" I'm not that good!!! I wish I was, but I will try my best, I promise! Hope you liked this chapter as well!

**Fizzy** *^* You're the best! You've reviewed all five chapters so far! And I'm getting longer reviews from you each time! I guess that means you're liking it?

**Pampered Tigress** *^* I honestly try my best with my writing, and I'm glad you like it! I'm telling you after all this writing, I better get a good grade in English! Lol. I'm glad no one has been killing me about the Americanese, but hey, as long as it's a good story, right?

**Trixie_the_Witch** *^*  That's a great suggestion, about the 7 yrs, and I'll definitely consider it! As long as people like the story it'll go on! So keep reviewing, I love hearing what you think! I agree about the love/hate, for this story anyway, and this chapter is even longer so you'll be happy! I'm on 6 pgs. right now.

Thanks sooo much for reviewing!

**Destiny Phoenix** *^* 7 times…7 times, eh? You crack me up! I luv you! I can't believe anyone could like this so much! Hehe…still laughing. I actually just read and reviewed one of your fics, it was great! Don't worry, I don't think you're cruel, I agree about the parents. I'm gonna have to somehow work Petunia into this somehow if I make this go into all of Lily's life though. :( How sad…thank you so much for the fantastic review!!!

            Now, take a leaf out've the above people's books and REVIEW!!!!!!!!! Please???? Thanks!

***Britz***


	7. Tales of Quidditch and Pag

The Prince and The Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter 7: Tales of Quidditch and Pag

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

            Lily woke up sweating the next morning. To say that she was nervous would've been the understatement of the year.  She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she'd be the worst in her year. Yes, James and Cass and Bella and Sirius had been helping her, but she still felt uneasy.  Sirius was a half-blood; his mother is a witch and his father is a muggle. Lily still couldn't imagine what was going to happen at a magical school.  She had looked over her books, especially one called Hogwarts, A History. (A/N: Herm's favorite! lol)  Just reading the book got her confused.  What she really wanted was to have a normal life. But since she was six years old, nothing had been the same.

            Lily had never really spoken about her parent's death. And truth be told, there wasn't much to tell that she knew. At 10:46 PM, October 31, neighbors heard an explosion. When the police came, the house looked perfectly all right, which was odd. They crept through the house; everything was all right except for in the dining room. And then they gasped in horror, for before their eyes lay Rose and Christopher Evans, all dressed up in fancy clothes, dead on the floor. A look of terror was in their eyes. Their youngest daughter was still sleeping in her room, and their oldest daughter was nowhere to be found. Police officials had brought the six year old, Lily, to the nearest orphanage: St. Bernadette's. And the rest, as you might say, was history. 

            Lily shook herself back to the present. Thinking of her past, pre-St. Bernadette's, that is, always frightened her. Not in the smallest bit the fact that she could hardly remember her parents. Lily sighed. It pained her to look at Mr. Potter and James. As much as Mr. Potter didn't really show too much open affection for his son, Lily could tell he loved James very much. And of course, James would do anything to get his father to praise him. Lily could tell just by watching them. And for once, all Lily wanted was for someone to love _her. _

            Lily sighed and quickly took a shower. She got dressed in a short black skirt, a dark green spaghetti-strap shirt, and nice black sandals. She brushed her hair, and her teeth, and ran down the front stairs to the kitchen. 

            "Morning Charles," she said as she sat down at the table.

            "Good Morning, Ms. Lily. Excited about the big day?" he smiled at her.

            "Yes! I can't wait, but what if I'm a terrible witch? I only found out about being one a month ago!" Lily said, expressing her fear.

            "Don't you worry, Lily. You're a bright girl, and you'll have Master James, and Master Sirius, and of course the lovely Figg sisters to help you. You'll do fine!" Charles smiled.

            "But they mentioned something about houses. What if I'm in a different house then Cassie and Bella, and the boys want to pull pranks or something on their own? I'll be all alone," said Lily, scared.

            "Master James wouldn't abandon you either way. He thinks very much of you, as do his father, and myself. And you'll meet new friends, no matter what. Calm down, Lily. I promise you'll be great," Charles said kindly.

            "Thanks Charles," Lily smiled, and gave him a hug.

            "Morning, Charles, Lily!" James said, and skipped into the kitchen.

            Lily raised her eyebrows. It wasn't like James to be…er…perky.

            "Good morning, James," Lily responded, "Where's-"

            "Top o' the morning to ya!" Sirius said, in an extremely fake Irish accent.

            "What if I want it to be the bottom?" demanded Cass, looking extremely ruffled and cranky.

            "You can't! It'd be the most horrid of all crimes! The poooor little leprechauns of Ireland would be so disappointed, and wouldn't show up at the Quidditch World Cup, and then who knows what sort of disastrous things could happen?!" Sirius asked dramatically, not skipping a beat.

            "Shut it, Siri. I think we all know now that Cass isn't a morning person," Bella said, her eyes twinkling.

            "Guys? What's quibits?" Lily asked. (A/N: I know that Lily already asked about Quidditch, but here's her real explanation, last time she just got an "It's complicated")

            Everyone in the room started cracking up, except for Sirius, who was looking mortally offended.

            "It's not quibits," he said in a wounded voice, "It's Quidditch, and Quidditch is only just the greatest sport in the world!"

            James nodded his head in agreement, "The excitement! The thrill! You poor, poor deprived child, not knowing the magic of Quidditch!" he added dramatically.

            "What's so great about this "Quidditch" guys?" Lily raised her eyebrows, and looked interested.

            "Everything!" James and Sirius chorused.

            "Real helpful, boys, real helpful," Bella said dryly.

            "Shut up Bella!" They chorused.

            "What're you two, twins?" Bella and Cass said together, than glared at eachother.

            "No, but you two are!" the two boys said at the exact same time, and cracked up.

            "Can someone just tell me what the heck Quidditch is?" Lily  demanded.

            "It's the best sport in the world. It's kinda hard to explain…" James said, getting a dreamy look in his eye. Cassie snorted.

            "Let me try. Quidditch is the most popular wizarding sport in the world. It's played in the air, flying on broomsticks. There are seven players on a Quidditch team. There are three chasers, who pass a ball called a quaffle back and forth. Every time a quaffle goes through a hoop it is worth 10 points to the team who scores it. There is a keeper, whose job is to stop the other team's chasers from scoring. There's two beaters who hit these two balls called bludgers at the other team. Bludgers are these black balls that try to knock players off their brooms." She stopped to take a deep breath before diving back into her speech.

"And lastly there is a seeker, who tries to catch a quick, tiny ball called the Golden Snitch before the other team's seeker does. The capture of the snitch, and only its capture, ends a Quidditch game. It also gives 150 points to the team who caught it, so they almost always win. It's the best game, you'll see!" Cass said, and by the time she was done with her mini-lecture she was panting and looking pleased with herself.

"Go Cass!" Bella cheered.

"I know you love me!" Cassie said in a playful tone, "I'll be signing autographs later on!"

Lily laughed. Then Mr. Potter came into the room, looking like a disheveled reck

"What's wrong, Dad?" James asked in a panicky voice. Lily realized with a jolt that it was the first time she heard him calling Mr. Potter 'Dad' and not 'Father.'

"Listen James, I know I promised that I'd take you to Platform 9¾, but there's been an urgent meeting for aurors…not only the BAS, but the AAA as well! And there's the FAFA, the IAU, the ISMF, the SAB, the ASAPMP…I feel terrible! I do…please James? I'll make this up to you. C'mon, I'll visit you if it'll make you happy," Mr. Potter said in a desperate tone.

"No," James said in a hard tone. Lily winced at the coldness in James' voice.

"No?" Mr. Potter asked.

"No. This time, you can't make it up. You say this every time, Dad. I understand that your job is important, and maybe this time it is an emergency. But is it always? My first Quidditch Little League game, you missed. In fact, you haven't been to a QLL game in what? Three years? You missed my birthday four years in a row! Christmas last year too…no dad. You won't visit me. You're schedule wouldn't allow it. I guess this proves something," James said in a hurt voice.

"What?" Mr. Potter asked hesitantly.

"You can't be an auror and a dad-only one. I guess you went with auror," James said with a sad smile, and then ran out of the room, a tear falling down his cheek.

"James!" Mr. Potter yelled, and Lily was shocked to see a very hurt expression on his face. Lily realized that in the month or so that she'd known him, he had looked delighted, maybe angry (at Aunt Isabella), but that was it. No other emotions, no loving looks at James. Lily knew he loved James, but she was willing to bet that James was doubting it at the moment.

"Well, that was rather uncomfortable," Sirius said in a joking tone, but no one laughed (Not even him). 

"Is he usually like this?" Lily asked Sirius and Charles.

"No, Master James never has exploded like that…or really imploded, I should say. Crumbled from the inside…poor thing. He really was years over due with that," Charles replied heavily before sitting down.

"I know what the BAS is, but what are the AAA, and the FAFA, the IAU, the ISMF, the SAB, and the ASAPMP?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, as you know the BAS is the British Auror Society. That's basically Britain's magical police department. The AAA (A/N: said Triple A, not 'A A A') is the American Auror agency, the FAFA is the French Area of Fighting Aurors, the IAU is the Italian Auror Union, the ISMF is the Irish/Scottish Magical Force, and the SAB is the Spanish Auror Bureau. The ASAPMP is the Australian Society Assigned to Protecting Magical People. Why they couldn't choose an easier abbreviation, I don't know…but back to the topic. Those are the seven most powerful branches of Aurors in the world. There are, of course, dozens more-the Canadian force, the Russian, Portuguese…the Portuguese is probably the next in line after the PAG."

"Pag?" Lily asked confused.

"Well, it's really the PAG, not pag, but if that's what you want to call it go right ahead. The PAG is the Powerful Auror Groups. Mr. Potter is the top representative from the BAS, so he's always involved in something or another."

Lily's head swam with all these new terms and information. She was getting quite confused.  

"I feel bad for poor James," Bella said, shaking her head.

"Yes, can you imagine? Having a father who's hardly ever home? And no mother at all?" Cassie added, looking solemn, not joyful for one of the first times since Lily had met her.

"Yes," Lily said absentmindedly.

"Lil?" The other three children asked. 

"Oh, sorry. But, I haven't had parents since I was six…so I understand a little bit what he's facing…" Lily said, trailing off.

Everyone was silence for a couple of minutes. The only sound in the room was Charles drying dishes. You could here a scratch, scratch, screech! Scratch, scratch, screech!           

Lily was about to get up and yank the dishes far out of Charles' reach when James returned. His eyes were bloodshot, but he forced a smile. 

"C'mon guys, let's go get ready. We've got to get to Platform 9¾ after all! By 10:30 at the very least. Charles, are you going to take us?" he asked calmly.

"Of course, Master James. Right away!" Charles replied, obviously surprised by James' lack of unhappiness. 

"Good. I'll go inform Father that our guests and myself are leaving the Garden. I'll meet you in the limousine at the front quarters of the house," James said in a monotone voice.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

"And here we are!" Charles exclaimed.

"Thank you Charles," James and Sirius chorused.

"Where's Platform 9 ¾? I see platform 9 and 10, but what are we supposed to do? Go in between?" Lily joked.

At that everyone present started to laugh.

"What?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"Well…you actually do have to walk through platforms 9 and 10," Bella said.

"What? You'd crash! Are you people crazy?" Lily asked, looking at them as if they were from Mars (and they probably were).

"No, Miss Lily, look, all you have to do is walk through the wall…do it at a run if you're nervous," Charles explained.

"Are-are you sure?" Lily asked nervously.

"Yes!" They all chorused.

"Are you sure you're sure?" Lily asked again.

"Yes, we're sure we're sure!" They all said again.

"Are you sure you're sure you're sure?" asked You-know-who. (A/N: If I get one person…just ONE person who says the most idiotic remark I've EVER heard, like "Voldemort's here?" I will stop the story…well, maybe not, but you know what I mean.)

"YES WE'RE SURE WE'RE SURE WE'RE SURE!" The whole group bellowed, scaring some small children nearby.

"Ok, no need to shout," Lily said huffily. (A/N: Is that a word? Oh well, is now)

"Just run through the wall!" James said, finally loosing his temper.

"Fine!" Lily said, loosing her temper as well. (They have so much in common)

At that Lily really did run through the wall, and to her surprise, wound up with no injuries whatsoever. 

"Hey! It worked!" She exclaimed, before FLOOSH! Sirius landed on top of her.

"Of course it did! What'd you expect?" he asked.

"Well…."

"Oof!" Lily and Sirius panted, as Bella had just fell onto Sirius.

"Well, Bella, I knew you wanted me, but this bad!" Sirius asked, being the obnoxious jerk he was.

"Why I oughta!" Bella said, for once not caring about perfect "Bella-talk" English.

"Ah!" James cried, as he too became part of the human pile-up.

"Oh no, not another person!" Lily grunted in pain, as, after all, she WAS on the bottom of the lot.

"Teronimo!" Cassie shouted, before flying to the top of the pile.

She happily pranced up. 

"That was fun! Let's do it again!" She said, her two long braids flying behind her.

"No!" They all shouted, then started to laugh.

"C'mon, let's get on the train," Bella said, and after saying goodbye to Charles, that's just what they did. 

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Author's Note: (AKA my favorite part of the fic):

            Ok, lot's to say…where should I start? I guess from the beginning…

1. Thanks for all the reviews! I'm so happy that I've been getting so many, especially for only having, what? 6 chapters? Well, 7 now…

2. I just saw the HP movie again…was it just me or did Harry first sit next to Ron, but by the end of the Welcoming Feast he sat next to Hermione?

3. I'm getting there with reading all of your stories! They're great! I'm so glad I'm discovering new stories, as well as getting some **great** suggestions, compliments, and input from people…please keep reviewing! You all make me so happy!

4. I know I forgot a disclaimer last chapter, so here's one for both of 'em:

Disclaimer: I own:

                        N as in nada!

                        O as in only Cass, Bella (kind of), PAG and Charles are mine

                        T as in there's nothing that is mine

                        H as in Harry's world doesn't belong to me

                         I as in everything is a figment of my imagination

                        N as in never-heard characters are mine

                        G as in the Goddess JK Rowling owns every good thing.

5. One last thing-I am so sorry this took so long to get out. I've been so busy, and I've been writing this chapter in fragments whenever I can find time. I'm not going to bore you with listing my very busy schedule. I will try to get the next chapter up ASAP! Promise! This actual chapter is a bit shorter, but I didn't want to get into the train ride or sorting just yet-next chapter, I promise. Oh, and if there is a specific house you think someone should be in, let me know in a review!

Here are the wonderful reviewers:

**Olivia** *^* Sadly, this wasn't too soon, but thanks for the tremendous                          compliment. Glad you love the story!

**Maxcat2564** *^* Thanks for reading and reviewing my story! Hope you like this  chapter as well!

**Chica** *^* hehehe…I just realized that "Chica" means girl in Espanol and I feel incredibly stupid…oh dear. Anyway, I'm glad you 10 to the 900th like my story!

**The Alpha** *^* Of course I'm gonna keep writing! As long as it **does** take to get out my chapters, I luv this story! (I'm so modest, aren't I? lol)

**Black Sparkles ***^* You're welcome from me reviewing your story! Thanks for being such a faithful reviewer to my story!

**Avalon ***^* I got a smiley :^) Yeah for me! I doubt there'll be romance anytime soon…sorry if that's bad, but come on, they're only 11…the equivalent of 6th grade, & there aren't any serious relationships that early! Thanks for reading!

**Cquill13** *^* Oh…thanks so much! I'm glad that you're loving the story! Only sometimes my story is twice as interesting? Just kidding, that was a HUGE compliment, and if people are still interested, the story will continue as long as you guys want! 

~*Taylor*~  *^* Ok…we both get chapters out quickly! Deal! Thanks for reviewing MY story so quickly! Hope you like the chapter!

Greengoldfish *^* I got a fancy word! Superb…I feel so special! Thanks for reviewing!

Firenze *^* hehe…I gotta threat! Yeah…ok, I'm tired and hyper, bare with me. Thanks so much for reviewing, I'm glad you like my story!!!

Trixie_the_Witch *^* Yeah! You're the BEST! You gave me my longest review so far ::wipes away tears:: I love you! You live in Finland? How cool…So, did you like the movie? Now I've got pressure on me…I gotta think of something funny AND original for a prank…that could take awhile…hmm. I guess it'll come to me, no? I'm glad your ok with the Writing Speed thingy, I will try to get chapters out quickly though. I didn't fall asleep, I LOVE long reviews! I tend to drone on too-look at my thank-you note for you! Please, feel free to babble all you like in a review! 

Eveline & Myrddin Emrys:

I'm sooo sorry for not responding to you guys after you reviewed! You're names never showed up until recently, and I felt so bad! So thank you for reviewing!

Thanks everyone for reviewing! I love getting comments from you guys!

::Hint hink, wink wink::

***Britz***


	8. Revenge of the Symbol Shoes

The Prince and The Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter 8: Revenge of the Symbol Shoes 

Lily climbed onto the Hogwarts Express. She was honestly still upset about what had happened earlier-the whole "Pag" incident, as she tended to call it. She didn't have a clue as to what sort of crisis might take Mr. Potter away from James on his birthday or Christmas. She resolved to ask someone about it later on…in the mean time, she'd have to concentrate on things closer at hand: Like the fact that in a couple of hours, she'd be at a school that teaches magic of all things.

            "Lily? Lil? Earth to Lily…yoo-hoo…" Sirius said in a high-pitched voice.

            "Yes?" Lily asked.

            "Is there a reason you're spacing out on us, or is that your new hobby?"

            "Are you always so dang annoying, or is that _your_ new hobby?" Lily asked.

            "Someone is in a bad mood," Bella noted.

            "Sorry, really I am. I'm just so…nervous, I guess," Lily sighed.

            "About going to Hogwarts? Don't be! I'm Deana Slate, fourth year Gryffindor," a tall girl with curly, chestnut colored hair came up to them. 

            "Fourth year?" James asked.

            "Yeah!"

            "Does that mean that you know Benny Weasley?" Sirius asked her.

            "Benny? Of course! Best prankster Hogwarts has seen in awhile. I'd pay good money to see the person, or people, who could best him in the prank business!" Deana laughed.

            "Would you be willing to put that in writing?" Sirius asked, straightening up.

            "Of course! Not that you're suggesting that you'll beat him? You're only first years! No offense," she added.

            "None taken," Cass assured her.

            "So, what're your names? I'll need to know if I'm to put my, shall we call it, the "bet" into writing?" Deana asked.

            "Well, the twins are Arabella and Cassidy Figg. Bella is the nice, calm, polite one, and Cass…well let's just say she's the other one. The redhead is Lily Evans. The nutsy one is Sirius Black…"

            "The one and only, madam," Sirius cut in, bowing and acting rather chivalrous.

            Deana's hazel eyes twinkled. She could tell she was going to like these kids…oh yes, they were certainly going to get along.

            "And you are?" she prompted.

            "James Potter, at your service!"

            "James Potter? Is your father's name Edward Potter, by any chance?" Deana asked excitedly. The others exchanged anxious looks. Would James be okay with the question? But they shouldn't have feared. Years of experience in the facade department had taught him to deal with certain issues without showing his own feelings.

            "Yes, it is. Edward Potter of  PAG is my father, you're correct. Look, we'd better start planning on a great entrance…you get your so-called bet into writing, and let us know when you're finished," James said.

            "All righty then! I'll catch up with you guys later than!" Deana smiled, and scurried from the compartment.

            "Excuse me, but do any of you happen to have seen a bag lying around here?" a girl with long dark hair asked them.

            "No, sorry," Bella said.

            "Oh! Can you imagine? Haven't even been in the train for an hour and I've already lost something!" the girl said, clearly very frustrated.

            "A little absentminded, are you?" Lily asked.

            "Just a wee bit, yes…" the girl trailed off sarcastically.

            "What was in your bag, er…um…Miss…?" James asked her.

            "What? Oh! How rude of me…I'm Melodia Noches. anyone asks, yes, noches is "night" in Spanish," Melodia said. (A/N: See my end note about how to pronounce her ridiculous name!)

            "Hi Melodia, lovely to meet you," Bella started politely, but then Sirius butted in.

            "Mel-o-dia, charming, dahling, charming to meet you!" Sirius said, in what Lily though was a suspiciously accurate impersonation of James' Auntie Isabella…or should she say Auntie Dragon-Bella? Lily remembered with a laugh.

            "It's not Mel-o-dia, it's Melodia!" She snapped, and everyone else in the train compartment laughed.

            "Yet another bad-tempered one has joined our number!" James joked, and received glares from both Lily and Cassie.

            "Anyway, Melodia, this is Cassidy, the other twin is Arabella, and the two idiots are Sirius and James respectively. I'm Lily, by the way," Lily introduced them.

            "Nice to meet you all," Melodia said smiling.

            "Well, like Lil said, I'm Arabella, but please, call me Bella. Oh, and call my twin Cassie or Cass, if you know what's good for you," Bella warned.

            Melodia laughed. "Thanks for the warning," she smiled.

            "Well, I'd better be moving along…" she trailed off, with almost a regrettable sigh.

            "You can stay, Melodia! We don't mind…but first, you need to…how shall I say it? Prove yourself worthy," Sirius said with an evil grin.

            James all of a sudden smiled as well.

            "Why, yes, my dear friend Sirius is correct. And the admission is-drum roll please," he continued.

            Bella and Cassie started to stamp their feet on the floor. Lily, catching on, whistled do-do-do-do-do-do over and over again. Sirius started to make noises like a trumpet, and all hell broke loose as they started to get into it. Even the always-calm reserved Bella had a noise or two to add to the pandemonium. In fact, she muttered a useful little spell that charmed her shoes to sound like symbols and she jumped up and down to get the noise to work. 

            "STOP!" James bellowed, and all at once they stopped, except for Bella who was still stomping away, her "symbols" making such a racket that even Sirius, master of all noise and din, had to cover his ears and he and James dove at her feet to keep her from stomping. (A/N: Title of Ch. comes into play now, don't worry, I'm not deranged! Well, actually…ah! On with the story!)

            "What?" She asked innocently. 

            "Bella, for once in your life-SHUT UP!" Cassie screamed.

          "What, am I being loud?" she asked, grinning triumphantly.

          "Ok, ok, you win!" Sirius whined.

          "Thank you very much!" she smiled.

          "Gee, I dunno, Bella. Next prank you pull for revenge, and they might not be able to put you in Ravenclaw!" James said solemnly.

           "Yes, you might actually qualify for Gryffindor! Or worse…Slytherin!" Sirius said, and James and Cassie winced.

          "Yeah right! Face it, you'll all be in Gryffindor, and I'll be in Ravenclaw! That's the truth," Bella said sadly.

            "Oh, Bella…" Lily trailed off. She herself hadn't a clue where she'd be sorted, though after spending just a day or two with the others she had a pretty good idea that Sirius, James, and Cass would be in Gryffindor like Bella said.

            "It's not like I'd mind it, really, being in Ravenclaw, it's just that…I'll miss you guys," Bella went on. 

            "Well, if it helps you, I don't know where I'll be sorted," Melodia said, and they all jumped. They'd forgotten that she was there.

            "Right, now where were we? Ah, yes-your admission!"

            "Team huddle!" Sirius shouted, and Cass, Lily, Bella, James, and Sirius got into a  huddle. After a minute of exaggerated whispers, they came to a conclusion.

            "We've decided that if you can dye our _dear_ friend Severus Snape's hair a lovely shade of purple, we might just let you into our…how shall we say it? Gang?" Sirius stated with a wink.

            "Oh, and don't worry about figuring out how, we've got the book right here," Bella added after a moment's thought, and started to rummage through her trunk.

            "Dying someone's hair? That's it? Just what I suspected…amateurs," Melodia murmured, "Oh well! All the easier for me! Oh, and Bella, don't worry I've got the color charm down pat. Comes in handy with two older brothers, it does. Now, I've just got to decide how to…jazz it up a bit!" 

            "Two older brothers? Try having five older sisters, a twin sister, and a younger sister! Not fun!" Cass said in an annoyed voice. 

            "Well, see y'all in about 45 minutes," Melodia exclaimed, and jumped up.

            "45 minutes? How long do you need to die Snapey-poo's hair purple?" James asked incredulously. 

            "Well, that and the other…plus spotting this 'Snape' fellow, that could take up some time," Melodia said with a mischievous smile.

            "I have a feeling we'll be getting along, Mel!" Cass said wickedly.

            "Don't call me Mel!" she shrieked, and then skipped out of the compartment.

            "So what does she want us to call her? Dia?" Sirius asked.

            "Maybe…" Lily trailed off. As the minutes went by, she was getting more and more anxious about Hogwarts. 

~*^*~*^*~Meanwhile~*^*~*^*~

"Hallo, then. Are any of you chaps Severus Snape?" Melodia asked, skipping into yet another compartment on the (extremely crowded) Hogwarts Express.

            "Yes, I am. Why is it your concern?" a nasty looking fellow with greasy black hair and a large nose asked her.

            "Because, if you are, I've a message for you!" Melodia said, looking more and more excited.

            "Well?" Snape asked impatiently.

            "If you're sure…" Melodia trailed off, trembling.

            "Yes, I'm sure, now tell me or be gone!" 

            Melodia took a deep breath.

            "Ok, then, you asked for it!"

            Melodia got down onto her knees, and said, "Hit it boys!"

            At once two guys muttered a spell, which instantly broadcasted the scene in  everyone adult-free compartment. Then, with a clap, music came on.

            _"Ring-a-ding-ding Ding-dong Ding-dong _

_  He's Sevy the idiot!_

_  Ring-a-ding-ding Ding-dong Ding-dong_

_  He's evil-can't you see it?_

_  He kind of stinks, He has a big nose!_

_  There's grease in his hair, And he has large tooooooooes!_

_  Oh, Ring-a-ding-ding Ding-dong Ding-dong_

_  His hair has such bad ta-aste_

_  I have a great spell, I know it so well!_

  Not to use it would be such a wa-aste 

_  So here, now I go-watch me and I'll show,_

_  We'll have tons of fun, Now watch everyone!_

_Sevy Snape the purple-haired guy!!!!!!!!"_

(A/N: Ok, try to sing it to the tune of 'Dominick the Donkey' How do you spell Dominick? Anyway, try singing it to that song, k?)

            Meanwhile, she had been dancing, prancing, and skipping around Snape, looking like a right idiot herself. At the end of her little "song" she skipped over and murmured a spell, and presto, change-o! Severus Snape was a now a…well, a purple-haired guy.

Snape looked at her, a furious look in his eye. Even his own friends couldn't help but laugh at their friend, with the "lovely" shade of indigo hair. He advance towards her, wand raised, but before he could say "You!" she had said, "Smile!" and snapped a picture. Then the two boys who had helped her (and herself) were zipping through compartments (amiss applause).

~*^*~*^*~Back in Lily & Co.'s apartment~*^*~*^*~

"Oh-my-God!" Cassie gasped out.

Everyone was rolling on the floor in laughter.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Sirius shouted in delight. (A/N: Ron-from-the-movie flashbacks…)

"It was, wasn't it?"

They all jumped about ten feet in the air.

"You were great!" Lily said, finding her voice first and throwing her arms around Melodia's  neck.

Melodia smiled, "Thanks. Oh, and by the way, this is my brother Jake, who's a sixth year, and my other older brother Stephen, who's in fourth year. They taught me all I know about pranks."

The two boys smiled proudly.

"Yes, 'Lodia*, you do!" the older brother, Jake, grinned. He had an earring in his left ear, and his dark hair brought out his dark brown eyes (corny, right?).

*(A/N: Ok, look at the bottom A.N. for how to pronounce her name & nickname)

"Don't gloat!" Stephen said, "As we both know that I am guilty for teaching her most of her tricks. Besides, I'm the one who is best friends with Benny Weasley, not you!"

"You know Benny Weasley?" Sirius, James, and Cassie exclaimed.

"Yes, like I said, he's my best friend and P.I.C."

"P.I.C?" Lily asked.

"Partner in Crime," everyone else in the compartment replied. (A/N: I am now officially scared to use the word 'chorused' too much, or at all, thanks to a review I got from Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune.) 

"And who, and what is it with, Benny Weasley?" Lily asked, and everyone looked surprised.

"Who's Benny Weasley? Who's Benny Weasley, she asks?" Sirius said, looking injured.

"Oh, stop being dramatic, Siri. Benny Weasley has the record for most detentions at Hogwarts in 29 years. He has pulled more pranks, and has made Filch the caretaker add more items to his infamous "Forbidden List" then any other kid…ever, I suppose," Bella told Lily.

"So he's basically your role model?" said Lily playfully.

"Role model? No way! Why, he's the enemy!" Sirius said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not even going to ask. C'mon, Steve, we gotta go find some people. See you later, Melodia. Great job with Snape," Jake exclaimed. 

"Bye you guys," Melodia replied. "So, am I in?"

"In? You are at home, inside the house, member of the group, through thick and thin, you are our brother-I mean sister," said Sirius hastily as Melodia glared at her.

"Ex-ex-excuse m-me," a soft voice came whimpering through the hall.

(A/N: We all know what's coming…we're all dreading it…sorry guys, in advance but it wouldn't be realistic without…it.)

"Yes?" Cassie asked.

"I-I'm look-look-looking f-f-for Mel-mel-mel-o-dia Noches. H-her b-bag was fou-found in-in my com-compartment," a tiny, whimpy blond boy said, looking on at the group in fear.

"You found my bag? Thank you!" Melodia said, looking delighted.

"You were able to translate that? I'm amazed!" Sirius said, looking at Melodia in disbelief. 

"Y-you're wel-wel-welcome. I'm P-Peter P-P-Pettigrew."

(A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I hate him too, I swear!)

"Nice to meet you Peter. I'll introduce us. Lunatic Number 1 over there is Sirius Black. Lunatic Number 2 is James Potter. Crazy Girl Number 1 is Cassidy Figg, but call her Cass if you value your life. Crazy Girl Number 2 is Melodia Noches, whose bag you have. The twin of Crazy Girl Number 1 is Arabella, Bella for short, and I am Lily Evans. Pleased to meet your acquaintance!" said Lily without missing a beat.

Poor (A/N: not!) Peter looked so confused that Bella said, "I'm Bella, my sister is Cass, the missing-bag girl is Melodia, the redhead is Lily, the boy with the glasses is James and the one without is Sirius."

"Th-thanks," He turned to Melodia, "Was that you who dyed Snape's hair purple? It was brilliant!"

Everyone stared at him in shock. He hadn't stammered once.

"Pranks prefect my speech," he explained, and James, Sirius, and Cass all smiled sympathetically at once.

"Ah, yes, Normalism-Lisp disease. Dear, dear Cass had it as well, when she was a young, innocent child. Spent too much time around Bella, we think," Sirius started.

"Hey!" Bella protested.

"Then she met us, and our…shall we say pranksterism cleared it all up! So, shall you join us? We'll most likely cure you!" James said.

"Ok! Thank you," Peter said, amazed by his luck. (A/N: He doesn't deserve it!)

            "No problem," James said nonchalantly. 

            "Excuse me!" an irritated Melodia spoke up.

            "You're excused," James and Sirius chorused. (A/N: Had to use it once, sorry!)

            "No! I mean, I had to go through the whole admission thing, and he just gives me a bag and poof! He's in?" Melodia shouted, outraged.

            "Don't flatter yourself, it's because one run-in with Snape would finish him off," Sirius whispered to her so that Peter wouldn't hear.

            "Yeah, yeah…" Melodia said, but she smiled just the same.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

_"Welcome to a new year_

_At this magic teaching school,_

_Where flying and brewing potions_

_Is a required rule._

_Four houses to be sorted in_

_And I can tell you in a synch,_

_I know your talents and your traits-_

_I can sort every wizard and witch._

_There's Gryffindor where if you are_

_An honorable kind_

_The brave, the daring, and the true_

_Belong there, I'll remind._

_The smart, the clever, and the learned_

_The quick and witty class._

_They study hard; abide the rules,_

_Gather and spend time that has to pass._

_Hufflepuff is where the students belong_

_That are loyal and are just._

_That group of kids are hard-working_

_And very quick to trust._

_Lastly there is Slytherin,_

_They are a devious crew._

_Those folks are slick and sly,_

_And plenty ambitious too._

_So if you dare, do try me on,_

_Wrong's not a word I know._

_Enjoy your years at Hogwarts, please,_

_And let's get on with the show!"_

The Sorting Hat just finished its song. The hall burst into applause. Lily trembled with apprehension. Her first glimpse at Hogwarts certainly hadn't been disappointing. The castle had a soft glow surround it. An appealing smell floated out of each of the hundreds of windows. Lily had been in awe. And the inside was just as splendid. An enchanted ceiling (or so Bella said, and Lily wasn't one to challenge Bella's knowledge) showed the stars twinkling, almost winking out Lily, willing her into believing magic-as if proclaiming a dramatic change in her life. This was it, Lily thought, there's no turning back now. She tuned her mind into what the strict professor-what was her name?-oh yes, Professor McGonagall was saying.

"And now, the sorting ceremony shall start!

_Avery, Jenson_….Slytherin!

_Abbot, Laura_….Hufflepuff!__

_Black, Sirius_….Gryffindor!

                        Lily cheered along with the school as Sirius stood up and bowed. He bowed and shook his hands over his head, as if mock-winning a huge tournament.

            _Corstelli, Amiee_….Ravenclaw! 

            Lily's mind wandered…there wasn't much time 'til she'd be called.

            _Evans, Lily_….Lily wandered up to the stool where _Dannen, Michael_ (Hufflepuff!) had left the Sorting Hat. It was the moment of truth. Gee, great, Lily thought sarcastically as she pulled on the tattered hat, I'm talking to myself AND I still manage to be melodramatic.

            *Technically, you do, but we're not hear to talk about that, now are we?*

            'You talk?' Lily thought to herself, shivering slightly.

            *Apparently* the Hat said, and Lily was sure it was _smirking_ at her.

            'Ok, get on with it,' Lily thought.

            *Impatient, are you? Oh well, not the point. Let me see…not nearly hardworking…no, you are what some might call extremely 'perezosa.' Definitely determined, however, a muggle-born wouldn't fit in with  the Slytherins. Can you imagine having your own house against you? No, no, definitely not. So-shall it be Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? You're a bright girl, but definitely daring…I have a feeling you'd scare those studious Ravenclaws with your temper. So I guess it'll be…**Gryffindor!***

            Lily heard the last bit shouted out to the school. A table on the far left jumped up and started to applause like crazy.   

_Figg, Arabella_….Ravenclaw! 

            Although the "gang" had pretty much guessed Bella's fate, they all couldn't help but be disappointed as she walked over to Ravenclaw table sadly.

            _Figg, Cassidy_….Gryffindor! 

            Sirius and Lily cheered for Cass and made room for her at the table. Lily smiled. Only Melodia, James, and Peter to go!

            _Gilford, Rosalba_….Ravenclaw! Lily watched as Rosalba headed over to sit next to Bella. She smiled as Bella quickly started to talk animatedly to the short strawberry blonde girl who sat down next to her.

            Lily was starting to get rather bored with the whole sorting ceremony.

            _Goyle, Narcissa_….Slytherin. A tall, silvery-blonde girl glided gracefully over to the table. Lily didn't like her, right off the bat. 

            _Ike, Tomas_….Hufflepuff!

            _Jasper, Lisa_….Hufflepuff!

            _Konway, Dorothea_…Ravenclaw!

_Lestrange, Jeremy_….Slytherin!

_Longbottom, Frank_….Ravenclaw!

_Lupin, Remus_….Gryffindor!

A pale, tired looking boy sat down next to her. 

"Hi, nice to meet you," he said politely.

"Hi. I'm Lily. This is Sirius, he is slightly deranged, and this is Cass, who's a bit hyper to say the least," Lily said smiling.

"I'm Remus," the boy replied.

_Malfoy, Lielle_….Slytherin! Another pretty blonde sat down next to Narcissa at the Slytherin table, and Lily didn't like the looks of her any better.

_Miller, Sam_…Ravenclaw!

_Noches, Melodia_….Gryffindor!

Lily cheered as Melodia skipped happily over to them.

_O'Connor, Ian_….Ravenclaw!

_Owen, Christina_….Hufflepuff!

            _Patterson, Anne Lynn_….Slytherin!

            _Pettigrew, Peter_….Gryffindor! (A/N: sadly, right?)

            _Potter, James_….Gryffindor! 

            Lily and Sirius started a chant: Jay-ames! Jay-ames! Jay-ames! James smiled modestly and said, "Thank you, thank you. It's such an honor to be here tonight. I'd like to start out this evening by welcoming you all here to the "Warty Hog" and…"

            "Potter! Sit down NOW!" McGonagall yelled, outraged, but Lily saw Headmaster Albus Dumbledore hide a smile.

            "Yes ma'am!" James said, and sat down next to Lily, across from Melodia.

            _Rae, Michele_….Gryffindor! Lily greeted their new fellow Gryffindor.

_Rosier, Henry_….Slytherin!

            _Runice, Ulysses_….Hufflepuff!

            _Schmidt, Patrick_….Ravenclaw!

            _Snape, Severus_….Slytherin! The boy from the train had obviously had his hair changed back to black, which was a shame. Everyone in the Great Hall started to snicker at the sight of him. He looked outraged as he stomped over to the Slytherin table.

_Spinello, Lauren_….Hufflepuff!

_Tortellini, Jordan_….Ravenclaw!

            _Volpete, Marisa_….Hufflepuff!

            _Walsh, Jana_….Gryffindor! One other Gryffindor joined them at the end of the table.

            _Wilkes, Tiara_.…Slytherin!

            _Zonan, Nicholas_….Hufflepuff!

            And that was it. Life at Hogwarts had officially begun.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

**Author's Note:** I did it! I actually did it! It took 9 pages, but we finished chapter 8! OMG, I'm sooooooo happy with the amount of reviews my story has gotten…81 with 7 chapters! And we're all gonna beat that now, right? (You're all supposed to say, "Yes, Britz, of course we're all gonna go review RIGHT now.) Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I added some A/Ns…a lot of 'em actually, but hey, it made it more colorful. I'm sorry about…Pettigrew…but it wouldn't be realistic without him, as much as he's a…well, you all know what he is. As for how to say Melodia's name…it's like the 'Hermione' of my world…MWAHAHAHA ::ahem:: It is pronounced: mel*ah*dee*uh NOT mel*oh*dee*uh! So her nickname is pronounced: la*dee*uh. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, here are all the WONDERFUL reviewers for my LONGEST CHAPTER YET! :)

**Naavi ***^* Ah, yes, the lovely, talented Naavi: I'M SORRY!!! I promise I'll let you know about this chapter! For the future: How should I tell you about a new chapter? Email? Review? Thanks for such a long review, hun! You're sooo good! Happy Hols! Lolz. Anyway, thanks for putting me on your favorites (you're on mine!) 3 you're the best! 

**Destiny Phoenix** *^* Yeah! You still love me story, and you still crack me up! How many times have you read my story? 19? You must really be bored! I'm seriously honored that you love my story that much, and I hope you like this chapter. I got the Golden Emu award…interesante…Happy whateva you celebrate too! (Hanukkah **&** Xmas for me!)

**Cquill13** *^* You got chapter 6 out! Cool…I tried to do a prank, let me know if it was good…if it wasn't…oh well. Thanks for reviewing!

**Arwen** *^* Thanks for the chapter title, get it out soon! EVERYONE: read her story!

**Me ***^* You reviewed for chapter 6, but unfortunately after I got chapter 6 up :( As for Lily becoming an animagus, I doubt that will happen…she just doesn't seem the type. ;)

**Sara ***^* I luv those types of reviews…the "more!"s really get to me ::tear:: thanks for reviewing! Hope you like the chapter! :)

**Tigerlily26 ***^* Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad it's original, and I really do hope you come back to read my story again!

**Fire Lizid ***^* ::sarcastically:: No pressure at all…lolz. I write well under pressure, as long as I can write about whatever I want…math, however…anyway, sorry you couldn't login. As long as you let me know you have an account, though, I'll get around to reviewing your story!

**Leia** *^* Ooh! I had a French reviewer ::Here that everyone?:: applause, applause…I think you're my first…? Anyway, you did pretty well with your review, don't worry. Thanks for the compliment on my story!

**Jace** *^* Thanks soooooo much! I'm glad you liked my story, I'll try to get out good writing…

**Nettey Potter** *^* You know what Nettey? I agree! What is it with the whole "I'm 11, but everyone is in love with me, and I have a major crush on so-and-so," etc? Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and I have a ? 4 u: Your pen name is Nettey POTTER, but you are Mrs. Sirius BLACK…confused, but I luv it just the same…best of both guys, right?

**Chelle** *^* funny…funny…someone else told me that, and I still don't get what's funny…be a dear and tell me so I can brag, lol. Hope you like this chapter as well!

**Saphire** *^* You do know that Sapphire has two 'p's, right? Or at least the stone one does. Sorry, but I'm a stickler with things like that…I know all the birthstones, I'm strange…Anyway, I'm glad you liked TP&TP, I'm definitely sticking with it! :)

**Le Chat Qui Garde De Lune** *^* Could you possibly get a more difficult penname? I kept forgetting how to spell it :( Thanks for pointing out my 'chorused' prob, although I'm guilty of using it ONCE this time…just once, though. ;) Thanks 4 the review!

**Cassondra** *^* Don't know 'bout fights, but they'll be friends for a looooooong time, don't worry! :) I went to read your fic, but then I realized: I've never read Tamara Pierce! So I've decided to go read it and if I like it I'll read your fic, I promise!

**Dre** *^* HEY EVERYONE! My 1st request for another story…wow…I actually have quite a few ideas, just none that seem good to me…I should get a beta reader…oh well! Thanks sooo much for the review!

**Midgee Dumbledore** *^* Of course I'll write more, thanks for the compliment & review, and THANK GOD it wasn't just me, I'd have felt stupid… ;)

**Wolf of Solitude** *^* Well, the gang met Peter…and Remus, kind of…they'll get more of that next chapter, don't worry. I was so touched by your review. I'm glad people think there is a plot (I was doubting it) and I agree with James, poor thing :( Thanks for the review!!!

**Hi** *^* hello…sorry, couldn't help myself, but a review with 'hi' AnYwAy! I'm sure you've been great, here's your present---Santa came early this year! Lolz. Merry Xmas!

**Betina**  *^* YOU WERE MY EIGHTIETH REVIEWER, YOU ROCK! Thanks so much! I can post it now…:)

**Sly Thing** *^* I know you were my 81st, but I only had about HALF the chapter written…it's now 10 to 12 (PM) my time, and I'm falling asleep as I type…but thanks for the review!

**DiScLaImEr:** C'mon peeps, you know the drill…I own things you DON'T know, everything that you know belongs to the all-talented Joanne Kathleen Rowling & Scholastic, Warner Bros. etc. etc. etc…

I celebrate Xmas & Hanukkah….I'd love to get 101 reviews before I update! 

(Please don't ask) Reviews that come out quickly get me readin' 'em quicker, and would be a LOVELY present! Thanks to **all** my reviewers, you guys are the BEST!

**~*^*~*^*~HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!~*^*~*^*~**

***Britz***

            __


	9. The Marauders

**The Prince and the Pauper**

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Nine: The Marauders

It had been 4 days since the sorting. Lily and the others had settled into the castle life quickly, though certainly not quietly. Shrieks could be heard from the prefect bathrooms early in the morning, and if you looked closely, you could see the faintest traces of spots all over them. When their friend Deana asked if they were "responsible" they just said, "Maybe." 

Lily asked the point of this; weren't they supposed to be beating that Weasley kid? But James and Sirius insisted on keeping it quiet 'til their big entrance which was to take place next week. The newest addition to their group, Remus Lupin, was also proving to be quite the joker. He was perfect, they were discovering, for distracting professors.

And speaking of their professors…Lily's favorite class so far was charms. Although their gang had chosen an interesting way to start off the year in that particular class. The very first day, they had been slightly late to class…ok, very late. As in 45 minutes late to a 75 minute class. (A/N: Figure the class in an hour and fifteen minutes long.) As soon as the tiny Professor Flitwick saw them wander in, laughing, he awarded them each a detention. Lily and Melodia groaned, but Cass, Sirius, and James exchanged high fives and did some sort of complicated handshake, which caused the rest of the class to crack up. Remus just rolled his eyes, and Peter looked terrified. (A/N: he he, poor [not] rat is scared! lolz) 

"Ok, class, come on now. We're going to learn a floating charm. It is called 'Wingardium Leviosa!' Now, remember, fish and swick! Um, I mean swish and flick…" He trailed off.

"Pair off, everyone."

"Mel and I will go together," Cass began before being interrupted by Melodia.

"Don't call me Mel!"

"And James and Sirius can go together. Remus and Peter…hmm. Sorry, Lily. Ask the professor who  you  should pair off with." Cass finished.

"Gee, thanks a lot," Lily murmured, "Professor, there is no one left for me to be with."

"Why don't you work with me? If you get it right, you are off detention."

"Sure, Professor," Lily said obediently.

"Good girl! Come here."

_'Oh dear, I'm a dog now,'_ Lily thought to herself.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Her feather started to float, just a little at first, then a bit higher, till it was level with her eyes.

"Excellent, Ms. Evans! Look here, everyone, Ms. Evans has gotten her feather to float!"

With a burst of confidence, she shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" without thinking and pointed her wand at the first thing she saw, which, unfortunately, happened to be little Professor Flitwick. 

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" the tiny professor screamed, as he floated high above their heads.

"Uh…sorry professor?" Lily said apologetically.

"Put me down, Ms. Evans, down!" Flitwick screeched, in a surprisingly strong voice for such a little man.

"Yes, Professor," Lily said, and stopped concentrating.

Bam. Flitwick fell right down into Sirius' **lap.**

"AHHHHHHHH!" Both Professor Flitwick AND Sirius screamed in horror. Just then the bell rang.

(A/N: Sorry, really couldn't resist :)

"Oops, gentlemen…I think I'll be going now," Lily started to sneak out the door.

"Ms. Evans!" Flitwick said with as much dignity as he could muster up.

"Yes, sir?" Lily asked innocently.

"DETENTION!" He yelled, and looking at her sharply, although after that he realized he was still in Sirius' lap, and quickly got out of it.

"Yup, sir, I got it…" Lily smiled, and walked out the door with Cass and Melodia. They all started to crack up, though the second Sirius got out of the charms room, Lily took off and ran far, far away from Sirius as she could.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

The rest of the week past by quickly. One evening, right after Lily and Melodia got back from a detention with Professor McGonagall, the week took a turn for the best. Cassie had been extremely annoyed that she hadn't gotten detention too. After all, let's not forget exactly who was the one who started clapping-really loudly. So, of course, Sirius, James and Remus joined in. Peter, who looked up to James like an ant looks up to a giraffe (well, not really), started to applause. Lily and Melodia started to laugh, but copied their actions and started to stand up and clap as well. Deana, noticing this, got the other Gryffindors to stand up and clap like crazy. 

After a minute of clapping, and passing it on, the whole Great Hall was on their feet, cheering, and shouting like mad. They all stood in ovation, and whistled and stomped their feet. The professors started to panic, and McGonagall, who saw Lily and Melodia stand first, came over to them and rewarded them each with a detention.

When they got back to the common room, Sirius and Remus were playing chess. Sirius was loosing pretty badly, and as it turned out, Remus was a sore winner, and Sirius a sore loser. It was pretty funny watching the game, as James and Peter found out, each egging Sirius and Remus on, respectively. Cass was sitting next to an older girl with long, light brown hair. She looked a little like the twins, with bright blue eyes to rival Bella's. 

"Hey Lil, 'Lodia!" 

"Hey Cassie. Who's this?" Melodia asked. 

"This is my youngest older sister, Bianca. Bi, these are two of my best friends, Lily Evans and Melodia Noches."

"Nice to meet you, Lily Evans and Melodia Noches," Bianca laughed. 

"Same here, Bianca. Your sister, however…can't say I'm to pleased to know Cassidy at the moment," Lily trailed off, shooting daggers at Cass.

"Don't call me 'Cassidy' Lilith!" Cass snapped.

"My name isn't even Lilith. It say 'Lily' on my birth certificate, it does, L-I-L-Y!"

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I was just talking to Bi about Bella. Supposedly, she has this new "friend" other than us! The poor thing probably hears Bella-talk in her sleep…"

"So? It's good that she's not lonely. What's her new friend's name?" Melodia asked.

"Well, the Ravenclaw 1st year girls other than Bella are Aimee Corstelli, Rosalba Gilford, and Dorothea Konway. Supposedly Dorothea, A.K.A. 'Thea' is worse than Bella with properness, and too absorbed in the land of Shakespeare. Aimee is really nice, and has the best memory Bella has ever seen, because quote on quote "She asked me if I had worn the same pair of socks the day before when I woke up on Tuesday." If you ask me, she's just has too much time on her hands. As for Rosalba, 'Rose' is extremely nice, smart, great, understanding, kind, intelligent, sweet, honest….must I go on?" Cass rambled, breathing heavily by the time she was done.

Bianca started to laugh. "I always wondered what it would be like if the 'Dream Team' the 'Terrible Twins' the 'Inseparable Pair Attached at the Hip' would be like separated. Apparently, Bella copes terrifically. Cass, however, is JEALOUS!" 

"Fine, laugh all you bloody want! Keep in mind that I know where you sleep!" The girls burst out laughing.

"I meant so I could pull revenge, you morons!" Cass screamed, and stomped up the stairs. They all winced. _I guess Bella was part of Cass, and when you take away the Bella-part…_Lily shuddered. 

"LILS!!!!!!!" Sirius screamed. "MEL!!!!!!!"

"What?" Lily asked, while Melodia protested, "DON'T CALL ME MEL!" 

"'K, Mel," Sirius said.

"Ok, ok, quit it Sirius," Remus said, "But don't purposely taunt people, it's not pleasant. How would you like it if I kept saying how YOU LOST IN CHESS!"

"Stop," Sirius whined, "James, make him stop buddy! Jamsie!"

"What, need your faithful watch dog?" Melodia asked.

"Never. Call. Me. A. Dog. You've asked for it!" James screamed, and attacked Melodia, tickling her until she was begging him to stop.

"Repeat after me. James is not a dog."

"James is…NOT a dog," Melodia said sadly. 

"Now, cat maybe…" Lily teased.

"Lily Evans! I'm ashamed of you!"

"Well, Potter, I can see that feline side of you. With an ebony mane and sleek black tail? You'd be attracting girls all over!" Lily replied.

"Especially Mrs. Norris!" Peter added, finally speaking up.

They all started to crack up. Then Bianca whispered something into Lily's ear. Lily nodded, and Bianca murmured a spell that no one could hear. 

ZAP! James Potter now had, to quote Lily, "An ebony mane and sleek black tail."

"Laugh, laugh all you want!" James said, sadly stroking his tail.

"We will, thanks, Jay!" Remus said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Smile James!" Melodia added, and took yet another picture. She had been making a collection of pictures from each and every prank or joke any of the future-Marauders made or took part in.

"Fine, be that way. But when we don't win that bet we made with Deana, just because you guys were TOO BUSY LAUGHING AT THE INGENIOUS PRANKSTER, don't come crying to me," James said smugly, and walked away.

"James, come back!" Sirius begged.

"Shan't!"

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"I thought you were my best friend!" said James dramatically.

"Oh, quit the act, and get with the program. Now we need a prank for Monday morning, and it's got to be good. It has to be expert-work. At least 10 things will have to be banned after this prank, not that it will stop us." Sirius said, extremely gravely.

"Ok, if you're all back to normal…" James said, but stopped when Cass giggled.

"What?" He asked annoyed.

"You still have fur!" She screeched, and started to crack up again.

"Oh, sorry James. I'm outta here!" Bianca said, after switching him back to "human form."

"Alright now. Peter and Remus, you are both on Zonko-duty. That means do anything you can to obtain dungbombs, stink pellets, floating gas, itching powder, the works. Sirius, you and I will come up with the plan. Melodia, you're to make sure that no one's done this before, ask your brothers. Cass and Lil, you're in charge of contacting Bella-we're going to need back-up."

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

The next couple of days the Marauders spent busily working away and planning for their big entrance. The only major events in between were two new classes: Flying, and Potions.

Potions was nothing short of a disaster. Lily came to the conclusion that their big prank would be a waste: after all, by now the professors knew enough about them to be scared for their own health. 

They arrived on time, for once, but unfortunately neglected to bring their cauldrons. After being given a five minute lecture ("How could you show up for potions without a cauldron, you morons?") they started copying notes, after notes, after notes. Their teacher, Professor Spur, was extremely…unpleasant, to say the least. 

"Alright, now, Mr. Potter. What is Dittany?" 

"I don't know sir. Shouldn't you know? You are the professor," James answered, not sounding in the slightest bit sarcastic, however rude his words were. 

"Ten points from Gryffindor for that remark, Potter! And I'll expect a 5 page report on Dittany, to be handed in next Monday. I don't want to hear from you again until then!" Spur snapped. "Do you understand me?"

James made no move to answer, just stared at him.

"Potter! Answer me!" Spur shouted, but to no prevail. James just kept staring at him plainly, as though trying to tell him that he was stupid. 

"Excuse me sir, but you told young Mister Potter that he shan't talk until he knows the definition to the herb, Dittany. Now, by asking him to answer you, you are either contradicting yourself or you are trying to test him into not listening to further deduct points from the Gryffindor house, Professor," Cass said in a very serious voice. 

"What…? 5 points from Gryffindor, Miss…." Professor Spur began.

"Figg, sir. Cassidy Figg."

"Well, 5 points from Gryffindor for acting so smart. Now get to work!"

"What? Have I dung on my nose? C'mon, James lost more points! Why are you all staring at me?" Cass asked.

"Did you just talk…well, to quote yourself, Bella-talk?" Lily asked her, being the first (as always) to find her voice.

"Oh, come on people, I have dwelled with her for eleven years, and her type of speech tends to rub off on a person."

Cass was greeted with more blank stares.

"Oh, sod off!" 

"There's are Cass we all know and love!" Remus smiled.

"Are you all talking? 10 more points from Gryffindor!" Their lovely professor (not) sneered again.

"Oh god, look out, it's Madame Doufahn's long-lost brother! We might not get out of here alive!" Lily said dramatically.

James and Sirius snickered appreciatively. Cass, Melodia, Remus, and Peter looked thoroughly lost, but the three filled them in briefly. 

"Speaking of the orphanage, how are your friends? You know, Sari and them all?" James asked.

"Oh my goodness! I haven't written to them in the longest time! Remind me to later, okay James?" Lily replied.

"Yes ma'am," James said.

"Are you Gryffindors talking again?" The gang's "favorite" teacher was back, taking off house points as usual.

"Yes, sir," They all chorused, except for James who refused to talk to him until he knew what Dittany was. 

"5 points from Gryffindor! Get back to work!"

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

The next day Lily and Cass woke up to a loud, high-pitched voice.

"Melodia, WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT WRETCHED NOISE?" Lily screamed.

"Why, opera, my dear Lily, opera!" With that, The Marriage of Figgaro came on, and all the girls in their dorm, including Jana and Michele, the two other Gryffindor first years, groaned and pulled their pillows over their heads. 

"Lils! Cass! Mel!" Sirius came into their dorm.

"You're not s'pposed to be in here Siri," Cass muttered sleepily.

"Out, Black." Lily said shortly.

"But Miss Evans, we've a prank to pull, you've a letter to write…we've all places to go, people to see…no time to sleep, it's not!"

"Oh, put a sock in it Si. We'll be right down," Cass replied.

"AND DON'T CALL ME MEL!" Melodia screamed after shutting the door in Sirius' face.

The girls went down into the common room. Peter and Remus were both leaning over a book, a rather heavy book at that, and when Lily looked in the armchair they were crowded around, she saw Bella sitting there to her delight.

"Bella!" Lily smiled, and gave her a hug.

"Hi Lily, Melodia, Cass!" She said.

"Hello, stranger. Where's your sidekick, Rosalba?" Cass sneered.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Rose is sleeping right now. You have a problem with that, dear sister?"

"Maybe I do."

"Maybe I don't care. Now shut up if you want the prank to go the right way."

"Maybe you just don't like us anymore," Cass continued talking loudly.

Bella gave her a look of amazement. "You're envious."

"English?" Cass asked.

"You, the almighty Cassidy Jean Figg, are jealous of me, because I'm not all scared and unhappy and lonely! It's ridiculous!"

"Jealous? Of you? As if!" Cass said.

"You do know that even if Rose is my closest friend, you're still my twin sister and best friend," Bella said, looking at Cass straight in the eye.

At that, Cass burst into tears and hugged Bella. Everyone looked shocked at that, but Bella just hugged her tightly and said, "I've missed you too, Cass, but we'll still see each other! Sure, I might be a smart, brainy Ravenclaw, but it gives me the perfect alibi, unlike you marauders." 

At that, Remus gasped. James looked at him quizzically. He mouthed, 'You'll see.' He then cleared his throat.

"You, Arabella Figg, are a Genius with a capital 'G,'" He said.

"You have just came up with the greatest name for us: The Marauders!"  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Lily sat down at a table in the library. Mr. Potter had said that he would send any letters to St. Bernadette's if she owled them to him. Well, it's time she took up on the offer.

Dear Sari & all the others,

          How are you all? I'm fine. My new school is great. I love all my new classes, and I've made lots of friends. Mr. Potter's son James, and his infamous friend Sirius Black are both here. They've turned out to be quite the pranksters, and I've been enlisted to help out. My other friends are Remus, Peter, Bella, Cass, and Melodia. They're all really nice, but I miss you guys so much! We're not supposed to get owls outside of family, so send back a letter with Mr. Potter, he'll make sure I get it. How is everything at St. B's? Have any D.E.s recently? Hope not! Did Megan move in with her new family? Let me know!

                                                          Love always,

                                                                Lily

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

The Marauders, as Bella had dubbed them, made their big "entrance" the next day. They spent all weekend preparing for it, and on Monday morning they were finally ready. 

They walked into the Great Hall and sat down at their table. When the Hall was pretty full, they put their plan into action. They charmed the Slytherins' utensils to turn into snakes every time someone said "breakfast." So, of course, the first thing that Sirius said was to Deana: "What's for breakfast, Deana?" And right on cue, boing! Instead of forks, spoons, and knives, snakes were slithering all over the table. Choking on laughter while Slytherins shrieked in surprise, Cass called to her sisters, Courtney and Bianca, "Hey, Courts and Bi! Come join us for breakfast!" And with another pop, gone were the plates and cups, and in their place, more snakes. 

It took a long time to get through breakfast, for every two seconds someone would "forget" and say breakfast, and in the blink of an eye forks and spoons vanished, and there was hundreds of snakes on the table. 

Dumbledore stood up and shot some sparks into the air.

"Excuse me, quiet down. To the students who've done this horrible, horrible deed," He began, his eyes twinkling in a way that showed he didn't mean his words, "I'm sure you are all feeling great remorse for troubling other students. Be warned that we will find out who did this," He said, and shot a look at the Gryffindor table.

There was a moment of silence before the owls came in. One owl had a huge package that was brought directly to Severus Snape. He read the letter, turned several shades of red, and then ran out of the room. Unfortunately, his letter exploded before he could reach the doors. A voice rang out:

Dear Severus,

Here are your extra pairs of underwear you asked for.

We even took the time to have the house-elves get new heart-shaped 

ones for you, and we took the time to include several new 5-galleon silky

pink pairs. We do regret to inform you, though, that your

request for other lingerie has been denied. I've included 

your bunny feety pajamas, as you left them at home. 

Enjoy Hogwarts sweetums!

Love,

Mummy 

At that, his package exploded, and underwear flew out left and right. Everyone ducked screamed as a particularly nasty pair of satin mustard colored panties flew right at the Gryffindors. Pandemonium struck out, and people were in hysterics. McGonagall stood up, looking furious.

"Who is responsible for this?" she demanded.

"Why, madam, the Marauders, of course!" James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter said, and stood up and bowed.

"We'll be signing autographs later!" Sirius added, and the Hall burst out in applause. Snape, looking murderous, stormed out of the Great Hall.

"DETENTION, ALL OF YOU!" McGonagall screamed.

"Yes!" James said, and he and Sirius exchanged high fives, to the horror of their transfiguration professor.

"AND TWENTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!"

"Darn. They always remember that part," Melodia muttered to Lily, who nodded and giggled as James and Sirius started to stand up and shake hands with everyone.

"Yeah. But it was worth it!"

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Author's Note: First thing I have to say is SORRY!!! I'm soooo sorry for how long this took. I've been sick, and we've had the holidays, and my aunt was in a car accident, and I've been really busy with school. I was so surprised when I got over 101 reviews…actually, I've gotten 38, and I'm shocked! Thank you all SO much! I will try to be quicker, and I hope this long chapter makes up for how long it took! Oh, and in your review: tell me if you like this format better than the paragraph form I've been using, so I know what's easier to read and all that jazz. I used "Dittany" a lot in this chapter, but mostly because it cracks me up. My nickname at school was "Dittany" (before HP was huge in the US) and when I read Harry Potter and saw it, and played the computer game and it is mentioned, I couldn't resist. Here's the list of **wonderful** reviewers, now in alphabetical order! :)

Amberblaze *^* Yes I continued, but way to late…I don't deserve all the wonderful reviews you've all been giving me! Thanks soooooo much for reviewing! :)

Amerkat *^* I'm confused…was the first review supposed to be for a different story? I'm not sure what you meant by 'I didn't review the right fic' or whatever…well, either way, thanks for reviewing!

Ayla Pascal *^* Thanks for reviewing, I hope you stop by to read the rest! I absolutely love Schnoogle, and I'll be stopping by to read your story soon, so expect a review from me! Thanks again!

Betina *^* Thanks for the review! I'm glad this is one of your favorites (you obviously haven't read enough of 'em if it is) I'm touched! Don't worry about Bella, there is a whole **scene** of her here, and like either James or Sirius said, she'll be called for reinforcements! 

Cheler *^* Sadly, this wasn't too soon, but I hope you did check this chapter out, and loved it! I appreciated the review! :) Thanks for the compliment, if you think **my** story is good, check out my Favorite Stories, they're ten times better!

Chelle *^* What do I put on my ice cream? Actually, I'm having a diet-coke-&-klondike-bar-ice-cream-float as I'm typing! Lolz I'm 100% serious about that! I don't like cherries though…don't worry about points, I'm a babbler at heart as well (just ask Naavi) so please, babble on :) Thanks for the review!

Cherry *^* Um….my story is out now! *says brightly* I know I'm so helpful…hope you read this chapter! Thanks for the review! :)

Cquill13 *^* I love your reviews! You're on my expected-reviewer list….oh god, I'm so modest, aren't I? lolz Well, I did check out that new story (awesome, by the way) and I'm lovin' it! Hope you liked the chapter!

~*Crystal Lily*~ *^* Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked this!

Fire Lizid *^* Yeah, you logged in! hurray for you! lol Anyway, thanks for the review! Don't worry, I know about your point, a couple of people have pointed that out, and all I gotta say is: I KNOW PEOPLE! HE WILL BE TRUSTED! I HATE IT, BUT I'D NEVER CHANGE JKR'S FACTS PURPOSELY, THIS ISN'T AN AU! Ok, don't be offended, that little speech was for everyone who scrolls down to read it. Thanks again for the review! :)

FireMaster *^* Sorry if you didn't like this…what exactly did you mean by exaggerated? The song? Cuz I don't blame you there, but it WAS 2 in the morning, I think people will forgive me. Thanks for the review!

Hi *^* Sadly, I couldn't update…due to illness, holidays, school…everything, really. I'm glad you like this, hope you've stuck with my story! Thanks for the review!

IceIceBaby *^* I just reviewed your story…cute, btw. Thanks for the review! If I'm on your favorites, thanks, if not, I hope you still like this story! Thanks again! :)

JAmp12 *^* This will be L/J….but not anytime soon! I mean, in 1st year (equivalent of sixth grade) everyone loves to play the "boyfriend-girlfriend game" but no one is serious about it…believe me, I know….so if my story gets continued to their…maybe 3rd of 4th year, there will be romance, I hope you can wait 'til then! Thanks for reviewing!

Jeanne *^* I LUVED YOUR REVIEW! You rock! I was cracking up at the "What are you doing reading this review when you should be typing the next chapter?" You're great! And an awesome writer! Hope you stick with this! Thanks for the review!

Kale Hana Catemii *^* Thanks for the review! Here it is, way to late, but nice and long! Hope you liked this story, I like writing it! Thanks again for the review!

Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune *^* My deepest, deepest apologies….everyone: LCQGLL IS AN AWESOME **FRENCH** REVIEWER! Does that satisfy you? Hope so! I adore French, but I take Spanish…still can't figure that one out…so thanks for the little translation, even if I can't pronounce it! Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing.

Lethal *^* Ok, you are next on my to-read list! Expect a review soon! Thanks for the compliment, although the song was terrible (In my humble opinion lol) Thanks for the review!!! :)

Lily Evans *^* I already told you this, but cymbals ARE indeed an instrument. The oxy-moron was BELLA using a LOUD instrument….supposed to be funny…apparently not…thanks for the review though!

Mademoiselle Gabrielle *^* Thanks for the review! And all those wonderful adjectives! I don't deserve 'em! Thanks again! :)

Majesty *^* Thanks for all….uh, what was it, 5 reviews? I'm sorry this took so long, I really am! Hope the longness made up for it! Lol Thanks again!

Naavi *^* Hey! I'm gonna type Naavi for this part, it's easier for me. I already answered to all your comments…my reasons why everyone is in the house they are…Thanks for reviewing! I love it when you do, it makes me feel special…an AWESOME author like my stories…well, likes me at any rate :) Thanks bestie!

Pamela *^* I'll try not to feel bad…HATE the rat, but he has to be in it, or Harry's life would change! I'm a stickler with that sort of thing. Thanks so much for reviewing!

Rheanna *^* Thanks for the review! It was so…long! I'm honored! Well, you wrote a lot…I'm glad you like it! I'm glad some people think there IS humor in this…I don't…lol. I loved writing James' scene with Mr. P…I felt bad for him though. You get close to the characters when you're with 'em, don't you? One question: WHAT ARE THE CANON RULES? I broke them? Let me know! Oh, and read Fire Lizid's review for Peter's explanation. Remus won't be too quiet, I promise! Thanks again!

Sierra Charm *^* Wrote back to you. Don't worry about your ending, I didn't notice! Hope you get to read this eventually!

Spike's Girl *^* Don't we all hate rat-boy? Have to include him though. Thanks for reviewing!

Trixie_the_Witch *^* Hope you read this soon! Thanks for wishing me a happy new year, you too! 

Voldie Fan *^* How can you **hate** Peter but be a **fan** of Voldie? Confused! Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked this chapter!

Wam wam mam *^* Glad you liked! Thanks for reviewing!

Wyldcatt *^* I won't cut out chorus too much, but overusage of a word gets annoying, I'm sure. Thanks for the review!

Sorry to anyone I forgot! **Please keep reviewing, you guys make my day!** See my disclaimer from a different chapter, we all know I don't own anything here & I'm not making money from this. Thanks again for the reviews! I'm sorry this took sooo long! Luv ya all!

**Britz**


	10. Quidditch Cheers and Christmas Tears (Oh...

The Prince & The Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Ten: Quidditch Cheers and Christmas Tears   

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

The next few months passed by, pretty uneventfully for the Marauders in fact. The first disturbance was the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch game coming up. Especially after the "Great Entrance," as it was called by most of the students, the enmity between the two houses was pretty high. Slytherins would try to humiliate and harm Gryffindors. Nothing was stopping them, and for weeks Madame Pomfrey was stuck in the infirmary with over 20 students until every teacher, including Spur, was threatening 200 points off Slytherin if it continued.   

The Marauders were beyond caring though. As far as they were concerned, they had gotten the Slytherins (and Snape) bad, and that was worth it all. The following Saturday morning was the Quidditch match.  Lily was awoken early in the morning by 4 super-hyper marauders bouncing on her bed.  

"Lilsies! Waksies!" Cass squealed happily, bouncing from her bed to Lily's and back.  

"Noooo. Sleepsies!" Lily whined.  

"Rise and shine, sweetums!" Melodia giggled in delight.  

"Noooo I'm tired, leave me 'lone!" Lily rolled over.   

"WAKE UP LIL-EEEEE!" Sirius screeched.  

"S-Sirius? James? YOU'RE NOT S'PPOSED TO EVEN BE HERE! LEAVE. Me. ALONE!"  

"Morning, sunshine," James said sarcastically.  

"Why are you all here?" Lily moaned.  

"QUIDDITCH MATCH TODAY!" They all chorused gleefully.   

"But…you've probably waken Michele and Jana!" Lily protested triumphantly.  

"Nopes! Jana is with us on this one, and Michele was put in the infirmary by S.S.es!" Melodia replied.  

"S.S.es?" Lily asked, not sure she wanted to know.  

"Sneaky Slytherins, of course!" Sirius said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  

"Right, now why don't you leave?" Lily yawned, and went to pull the covers over her head. 

"We're gonna sco-o-ore tonight! We're gonna sco-o-ore toni-ight! We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll, we're gonna fly, we'll score some goals! We're gonna sco-o-ore tonight!" Sirius, James, Melodia, and Cass sang as they pranced out of the room.  Lily groaned and pulled her quilt over her head. She sighed. That incident had only proved one thing: she absolutely HATED Quidditch!  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~  

Eventually, Lily was convinced by her friends to get dressed and out of bed, but by that time…let's just say the whole Gryffindor tower knew Lily as "The first year who likes to sleep-late and a lot." So, after getting Sirius back from the infirmary (Lily had hexed him-she was getting very advanced for a first year in hexes), they all trooped down to the Quidditch pitch.  

The infamous Benny Weasley was acting as commentator, with McGonagall and Spur there to keep an eye on him. The Gryffindors were all excited about the match: everyone (except Lily, who complained that scarlet clashed with her hair horridly) wore scarlet scarves and hats. Little scarlet and gold flags were waved and a huge banner was at the top of the stadium, at least fifty feet up that stated: LIONS! BEAT THOSE SNAKES! (or else). Lily really couldn't understand the big deal. Sure, she got the spiel from Cass, but she was going only to see people fly, and because she was frog-hopped down to the pitch by 4 mad marauders. Peter and Remus, who both agreed with Lily in terms of Quidditch, sat next to her. Peter said that he was afraid of heights, so even though he liked watching it, he refused to play it. Remus just thought it was dull, and Lily agreed whole-heartedly.   

"C'mon, Lil, stand up! We're gonna start a wave!" Cass said, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed.  

"Nooo," Lily whined stubbornly.  

"I'd not bother her if I were you, Cass. She can get rather violent," Sirius shuddered.  

"Aw, has poor Sirius been beat up by Monster Lily?" a mocking voice came from behind them. It was Bella, with her Ravenclaw buddies.  

"Bella! Don't tell me! You've come to save me from the school idiots?" Lily asked.  

Bella laughed, "No, sorry Lil. I actually came to formally introduce my Ravenclaw acquaintances…"  

"Bel-la!" Cass groaned.  

"Sorry, Darling Sister," Bella smiled. Lily noticed how happy and more relaxed she looked now. Whether it was that her twin was talking to her again, or if it was her new friends, but she was a lot less austere now.

"AND NOW, THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!" Benny yelled enthusiastically.  

"WOOD, BELL, CALVIN, ABRAM, SHAWN, FIGG, AAAAAAAAND JACKSON!"   

"You're sister's on the team?" Lily asked Bella, as Cass was too busy screaming, 

"GO LIONS! BEAT THOSE RUDDY SNAKES! SLYTHERINS SUCK! GOOOOOOO GRYFFINDOR!" as the Slytherins were announced ("And here are the Slytherins. Damn, they showed up, didn't think they would after that prank. Maybe the other one in the locker room wasn't triggered? Uh, right Professor M, back to the game!")  

"Yeah, Allyson is. She's a fifth year. Ally, Lorelei Abram, and Derek Shawn are Gryffindor chasers, Jarred Calvin and Alex Bell are beaters, Timothy Wood is the keeper and captain, and Tabitha Jackson is the seeker," Bella said.  

"PENALTY! C'mon, ref, what're you talking about?" James and Sirius were protesting. Cass was booing as well, but was a bit distracted from laughing at the Slytherin keeper, who was having some...er, problems keeping his glasses on. Every couple of seconds they'd fly off his face.  

"HEHE! CAN'T EVEN KEEP HIS SPECS ON!" Cass started to screeched, before Lily firmly planted her hand over Cass's mouth.  

"Aw, Lily, you're takin' all the fun outta it!" Cass pouted once she had regained control of her mouth.   

"You're embarrassing me, young lady, so shut up!"   

"Yes mother," Cass rolled her eyes.  "Don't start with me," Lily threatened her playfully.  

"Cass! Did you do that?" Bella scolded.  Cass grinned guiltily, 

"I plead the Fifth." (A/N: Ok, it's an American thingy…has to do with the Fifth Amendment in the Constitution…Bella will explain.)  

"Cass, we're not in the States! You can't plead the Fifth!" Bella said, rolling her eyes.  

"Says who?" Cass challenged.  

"Says…me, that's who! You can't spare yourself from answering by pleading the Fifth Amendment in the Constitution of the UNITED STATES in ENGLAND! Not to mention it's a MUGGLE law!" said Bella exasperated.   

"Well, maybe we should get it. It'd save us from all the trouble. Actually, come to think of it…less detentions! Maybe I shouldn't have pleaded the Fifth!" Cass said worriedly.  

"Shut up!" Sirius whined.  

"Yeah, we needn't know about American muggle laws in the middle of a QUIDDITCH game!" said James.  

"Well, now that I've gotten your attention," Bella started, but Sirius had already turned back to the match.  

"Ahem. Now if you all will listen as I introduce my friends," Bella said, but half of her Gryffindor friends, Cass, James, and Sirius, plus half of Melodia (listening in one ear, out the other) weren't paying her any attention.  

"SIRIUS LEO BARTHOLOMEW SOLOMON ISAAC HENRY NATHANIEL JEREMIAH BLACK!" Bella yelled and stamped her foot.  

Lily, Melodia, Peter, Remus, and all the Ravenclaws burst into laughter.  Sirius had a pained expression on his face.  

"See, Lil, I told you I was truly a member of the UCCEON club!" He said sadly, and Lily giggled.  

"The what?" Melodia asked.  

"The Unfortunate Children Cursed with Extremely Odd Names club," Sirius said impatiently.  

"Well, my dear friend, it is most certainly true," Remus smirked.  

"S-Sirius…L-l-leo…B-BARTH-BARTHOLOMEW!" Melodia was rolling on the floor under the bleachers.  

"Shut up," Sirius pleaded.  

"SOLOMON! I-Isaac…H-Henry…Na-Na-NATHANIEL JEREMIAH…Black!" Melodia burst into a new wave of hysterics.   

"Who're you to be laughing at me? Doesn't your name mean Melody Night?" Sirius shot back.  

"So? At least I don't have 10 names!" Melodia giggled.  

"Nine! NINE names!" Sirius corrected quickly.  

James laughed, "Buddy, if I hadn't known your names, I'd seriously reconsider being your best friend, and I'd be joining our fellow classmates, rolling on the floor."  

"Fine! Be that way! Make fun of me because of my name…s," Sirius said, faking a hurt look.  

"Don't worry, Sirius, we will," Peter said.  

"Gee, thanks Pete," he said, shaking his head sadly.  

"AND GRYFFINDOR GETS THE SNITCH, 150-0! If we hadn't won, it'd be a quick, boring game! But we BEAT those stinkin' Snakes! Er…sorry Professor," Benny finished up, and the match, surprisingly, was over just like that.  

"Great, now you've made us miss it," Cass said miserably.  

"Don't blame me! By the way, this is Rose, Aimee, and 'Thea. They're all Ravenclaws," Bella said.  

"Nice to meet you," Lily started, but the boys, Cass, and Melodia started walking past, planning their next prank.  

"C'mon, Lils! We gotta go rub it in the Snapey-poo's face that he lost, get 5 galleons from Ken Ziffner of Hufflepuff since we won, and plan our next…outing," James called back to her.  

"Bye Bella and Bella's friends!" Lily called, and hurried to catch up with the Marauders & Company.  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~  

Life at Hogwarts pretty much went quickly (and smoothly) after that. The Marauders played plenty of jokes on Slytherins, Snape, Slytherins, Benny Weasley and Deana and their friends, Snape, other kids that got on their bad side, Slytherins, professors, and Slytherins.   

By December, however, things started catching up again. Lily received a letter from Sari and the orphans, which basically expressed just how much they missed her, and how they so wanted to see her again. Lily sighed and wrote back a letter, explaining how she'd be staying at Hogwarts over winter break, but maybe she could visit Mr. Potter and go to St. Bernadette's for a day.  "Hey Lily!" Bella smiled as Lily entered the library.   

"Hi Bella! Hi…Rosalba, right?" Lily asked.  

"Yes, but please, call me Rose. I hate my full name," Bella's friend smiled.  

"Okay, Rose. Bella, I've been told to take you to HQ. We need, to quote Sirius, 'reinforcements,'" Lily said, shaking her head.  

"Again?" Bella groaned. Lily shrugged her shoulders sympathetically.  "Um…HQ? Fill me in, Bell," Rose said.  

"HQ is standard code for Head Quarters, really, Rose, you should know that! Oh, and my sister, god-brother, and their friends are always coming to me for new spells to use in pranks," Bella explained.  

"God-brother?" Lily asked.  

"Yes, Edward Potter is Cass and my godfather. For whatever reason, we share him, we didn't get separate godparents. Marianne, his wife, was our godmother, but she died a long time ago," Bella said..  

"James is your god-brother? Why didn't I know?" asked Lily, looking scandalized.  

"Lil, relax. I guess it never came up," Bella said delicately, "C'mon, let's go to the room, Rose can come. I bet I can beat you there!"  Lily, never one to give up on a challenge, agreed immediately, making a mental note to bring up the subject another time, and ran off to the room the Marauders had donned "MHQ," or "Marauder Head Quarters."  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~  

A week before Christmas, McGonagall came around to her Gryffindors with a sign-up sheet for the holidays. James sighed when he saw it. Lily was immediately reminded of his "explosion" during the holidays. Sirius also seemed to be eyeing his best friend carefully, which is more than most people would think of him. By now, Lily knew better. She knew that Sirius' family wasn't all too loving towards him, and that they were thankful that; first Mr. Potter had practically adopted him, and second that Hogwarts actually accepted him. Most people would think it understandable, but Lily knew Sirius was slightly hurt, and resented his family somewhat for it.   

After being friends with them for a little over 4 months, Lily knew that James and Sirius were similar in more ways than pranks and looks. They both weren't overly pleased with their families: in fact, by some mutual silent agreement, they were each other's family. God help you if you said something bad about Sirius within James' hearing, and vice versa. They were rather overprotective when it came to their friends. So when Lily saw Sirius looking over at James worriedly, she was a little apprehensive.  

"Sirius, don't look at me like that, I'll be fine. Knowing Father, I'll get an owl tomorrow with his apologies and an invitation home for the holidays, even though we both know I have to go, it's not an option," James said, without even looking at Sirius.  

"Well, if you're going, buddy, so am I. Write your father back when he sends you an owl and tell him," Sirius said immediately, the ever faithful companion.   

"Sirius--" James started, but Sirius cut him off.  

"Honestly, Jay, as if I'd have it any other way? Besides, it's not like I'm going home to my family, I avoid them AMAP-As much as possible," he said.  

"Well, alright, but I'm inviting the rest of you over for the New Year's Party, my father's never home for Christmas," James said to the others, aware that they were all listening in on his and Sirius' conversation.  They all tried to look as un-guilty as you can when you are, in fact, guilty. Sirius laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, guys. Just come! We'll have a lot of fun!"  

"Well, I'm supposed to go home, and spend the holidays with Mum, Dad, and Jonathon. My brother," Peter added when he saw confused looks, "He's only seven."  

"What about the rest of you?" James asked.  

"My Mother is sick so I have to visit her over the break," Remus said, looking pale and tired all of a sudden, "But I'll see if I can come to your house on New Years if I-she's doing better."  

"I'm going home with Jake and Stephen this year. My family tradition, go home every other year. Turns out this year I get to leave," said Melodia.  

"Same goes for me and Bella, we're going home. We have to, all million of us. Ariel and Briane and Courtney and Allyson and Bianca and Bella and me. And my dad and my step-dad, who surprisingly get along. So basically, full house. I'm sure Bella would be just as relieved for a chance to stay at the Garden, Jamsie boy," Cass said, sighing at her family.  

"Lil?" Sirius asked.  

"Well, as I'm not allowed to go back to the St. Bernadette's 'til summer break, so I'm obviously staying," Lily replied, looking a little sorry for herself, which was unusual for her. James winced, "Sorry, Lily. You're more than welcome to join Sirius and me at my house. Chances are we'll be staying with Charles half the time, but it'll be better than staying here by yourself.  

"Well," Lily said hesitantly, "I don't want to be a trouble."  

"Trouble? Are you kidding, Lils? Eddie loves you!" Sirius said, ignoring James' scowl at his father's pet name, "He practically worships the ground you walk on, Charles is no different."  

"Really, Lily, come! You can't be the only Marauder not there!" James added, flashing her his brightest smile and Sirius started begging her on his hands and knees, literally.  

"Pweese? Pwetty Pweese?" Sirius said, giving her a puppy look.  Lily laughed, knowing in her heart she was relieved that her friends were so persistent about it, as she didn't want to spend another Christmas alone.  

"Fine, but only if your dad says it's okay, James," Lily finally gave in.  

"YES!" Sirius and James exchanged high fives, and the group of seven youths all smiled.   

Lily looked out the windows, and saw some snow falling.   

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful! But the fire, is so delightful. And since we've no place to go…Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Lily hummed quietly, and the others turned to watch her.  

"Oh, it doesn't show signs of stopping. And I've brought some corn for popping. The lights are turned way down low…Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" she sang, more confidently. Melodia smiled and joined her.

"When we finally kiss goodnight, how'll you'll hate going out in the storm. But if you really hold me tight, all the way home we'll be warm! Oh, the fire is slowly dying. And my dear, we're still, goodbye-ing. The lights are turned way down low let it snow…let it snow…let it…snow," they sang, and the group was quiet for a little bit.  

"So-wanna have a snow ball fight?" Sirius asked, ruining the moment, but the others all grinned.  

"You bet! Boys against girls, after we get Bella!" Cass shouted, and thus began the first annual Marauder Snow Ball Fight, AKA Hogwart's Worst Nightmare.  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~

Later on, after it was over (the guys had won, but hey, they had James and Sirius on the same team. It could've been Sirius and James versus the rest of the school and the two of them would've won!), Lily and James sat sipping hot chocolate in the common room. Sirius and Remus were bent over the magical chess board. Cass and Melodia had just went up to bed, and Peter retired early too. 

"You have a nice voice, you know," James said to her.  

"Thanks. I think I got it from my mum. I remember her singing this song to me, every night," Lily hummed it for him.  

Beautiful Dreamer, wake unto me, 

Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee; 

Sounds of the rude world heard in the day, 

Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away! 

Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song, 

List while I woo thee with soft melody; 

Gone are the cares of life's busy throng 

Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

 Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!   

"What song is that?" James asked.  

"Beautiful Dreamer," Lily replied, trying to picture her mother that she lost so young.  

"Hey-are you okay?" James asked, concerned.  

"Just trying to remember my mum. I remember…she had bright green eyes, like mine, and dark red hair. I looked a lot like her. She was beautiful," Lily said quietly.  

"I know how you feel. My mum died as well, and I've basically lost my father," James said, looking at the fire.  

"JAMES POTTER!" Lily shouted, looking extremely angry.

"What?" James asked her innocently.  

"Don't you dare say that about your father! He loves you, whether or not he's good at showing it, and he's trying his best! I think it's about time that you try yours!" Lily stormed off.  

"Well, James, made the Lady Lily mad, I see?" Sirius smirked.  

"Don't smirk, you look remarkably like a Slytherin," James said, and then went up to the dorm to go to sleep.  

Sirius quickly took the look off his face, "Do not," he said.  

"DO TOO!" a voice shouted from the dorms.  

Remus gave him a Look, and said, "Checkmate."  

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius pouted, and got up to go to sleep.  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~  

Lily woke up on the 19th of December from Melodia shaking her.   

"Stop," Lily moaned.  

"Oh. My. God. What did I deserve to be stuck with the world's worst morning person? You-Never-Wake-UP!" Melodia shouted, shaking Lily over and over to no avail.  

"Lil-eee!" Sirius sang up the staircase, and in a second Lily was up and in the bathroom.  

"How does he do that?" Melodia asked Jana, another Gryffindor, who just shrugged.  

Lily hurried out of the bathroom after taking a quick shower. She was going to James' house today! Lily couldn't wait to get to The Garden. She wanted to see Charles and Mr. Potter, and to see the girls at the orphanage. Even though everyone called it "Going home for the holidays" Lily called it "Going away for the holidays." Hogwarts was her home.   "Hey Remus, James, Sirius, Peter," Lily said as she sat down at the Gryffindor table.   

"Took you long enough," Sirius smirked.  

"You're doing it again, Siri the Slytherin!" James laughed.  

"You did not just call me a Slytherin," Sirius spat out the last word.

"Wanna bet?" James asked, rising to the occasion.  

Sirius and James started running around the Great Hall, throwing pancakes at each other. James ran behind the Staff Table to hide and get more "ammunition."   

"Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked, amused.  

"Yes, sir?" James asked, and most of the people watching quieted down when they saw their headmaster speaking to a troublemaker.  

"Might I suggest you try attacking Mr. Black with the French toast? It's stickier," Dumbledore said nonchalantly.  

"Thank you sir, will do," James said, and quickly grabbed a plate of sticky French toast to throw at Sirius.  

McGonagall threw up her hands, "I finally think they're getting in trouble, and what does he do? 'Might I suggest you try attacking Mr. Black with the French toast?'" McGonagall mimicked Professor Dumbledore.  Lily, Cass, Melodia, and Remus started to laugh. Sirius promptly ended the fight after getting syrup in his hair ("JAMES! I'LL KILL YOU!") and soon it was time to go on the train.  

Surprisingly enough, the ride home was mellow. The boys went "exploring" and the girls stayed in a compartment with Bella, Aimee (another Ravenclaw), Michele (another Gryffindor), and Jana (another Gryffindor). All seven of them played Exploding Snap until the ride was over, which was a shame, according to Cass. Bella rolled her eyes at that, and followed her off the train.  

They all gathered outside the Muggle barrier to Platform 9¾.    

"Bye Aimee! Nice meeting you!" Lily said as the Ravenclaw went off. Michele and Jana had already left.  

"Bye guys," Peter said, and they all chorused their "Good byes."  

Soon after Remus, the twins, and Melodia left.  

"I'm going home with you, James," Sirius said.  

"That's if my father decides to show up," James said coldly, ignoring Lily's glare.  

"I'm sure he will," Lily said evenly.  

"Master James! Miss Lily! Master Sirius!" Charles called out.  

"Hi, Charles," James said dully after seeing it be Charles to pick them up, but Sirius shook his hand and Lily gave him a hug.  

"It's wonderful that we'll be having you over the holiday, Lily," Charles smiled.  

"I'm glad I won't be the only one left at Hogwarts."  

"We'd never have allowed that," a deep voice came from behind them.  They all turned. There, standing behind them, was Edward Potter.  

"Father, you've come. I'm surprised, I have to admit," James said. To most it wouldn't sound cold, but all present flinched at the cold tone.  

"James, I won't have that tone. I've apologized plenty of times, James, and I can't do much more! I've already cancelled so many appointments to be here instead of in Australia with the P.A.G. What more do you want, James? Do you want me to leave my job?" Edward Potter asked his son, frustrated.  

"Ideally, yes, but you'd never give that up," James stormed away and went into the limo.  

"What is wrong with that boy?" Mr. Potter sighed.  Lily and Sirius turned to him, surprised, and he smiled.  

"I didn't mean it that way. I love him more than anything, I do, but when I can't be home he stops believing it," Mr. Potter sighed.  

"Lily blew up at him," Sirius said.  

"Did you?" James' father asked, amused.  

"Yup. He should be grateful he has a father!" Lily said, feeling her face get red.  

"Don't worry, Lily, he's just upset," Mr. Potter said.  

"I know. Thanks for having me, by the way, Mr. Potter," Lily said. 

"Please, Miss Lily, Edward, Ed, Mr. P…Mr. Potter is too formal," Edward said.  

"Or you could call him Uncle Eddie!" Sirius laughed, and chased Lily back to the limo where James was sulking.   

"Having fun with my father?" he said coolly.  

"As a matter of fact, yes," Lily answered, just as icily.

(A/N: I'm shivering…burr…ok, bk to the story)  

They spent the rest of the limo ride in silence, except for Sirius who was humming "I Love Rock & Roll," driving James crazy.   

"At least when Lilith or 'Lodia sing they have good voices! Shut up, Sirius!" James whined.  

"As flattered as I am, refrain from the 'Lilith' as that's NOT my name!" Lily yelled.  

"I love rock and roll! Put another dime in the juke box, baby! I love rock and roll…" Sirius sang incredibly off-tune.  

"SHUT UP!" James and Lily screamed.  

"…so come and take your time and dance with me!"  

"BLACK!" Lily shouted.  

Edward Potter shook his head, and Charles grinned. The Marauders were back!  

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~  

The holidays started out pretty quickly. Lily helped Charles, James, and Sirius decorate the manor. Lily had never really done that for the holidays. It was pretty funny, watching Sirius rap Charles' body together with strings of popcorn.  

James and Lily were attempting to hang all the gigantic Christmas ornaments on the 12 foot Christmas tree Mr. Potter set up. The ornaments were all softly humming "Carol of the Bells," and glowing. Enchanted snow fell from the ceiling. Mistletoe showed up in different hallways, and lights surrounded the house. It was the most beautiful Christmas Lily had ever seen.  

On Christmas Eve, they all got dressed up. Lily wore a dark green dress she'd been allowed to get last year for her birthday at the orphanage. They ate dinner and sat by the tree, talking. Lily told them of her adventures at St. Bernadette's, and James and Sirius talked about their many prank-pulling escapades. Lily laughed at their antics. For once, James seemed to be getting along with his father. His eyes sparkled as Mr. Potter waved his wand and heard a trumpet sound. A group of house elves came out and preformed a skit of the Christmas elves.  

(A/N: I'm not British…I was gonna write Santa, then Father Christmas, but to be safe, I left it at 'Christmas Elves')  

They were all laughing and eating cookies when Charles came back in, looking somber. He motioned for Mr. Potter to join him and whispered something in his ear. Mr. Potter went pale. He straightened up, said, "One moment, kids," and hurried over to the fireplace where, Lily jumped as she saw it, a head was.  

"Carl Johansen, only higher British representative than my dad in PAG," James whispered to his friends.  

After a couple minutes of whispering in the fire, Mr. Potter walked over to them, his face white. Outside it was dark, with crystal snowflakes fell. The blaze in the fireplace gave off an eerie glow, and the ornaments on the trees were still humming softly.  

Hark how the bells, Sweet silver bells. All seem to say, throw cares away. Christmas is here, bringing good cheer,  To young and old, meek and the bold. Gaily the ring, while people sing, Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here.   

"Sirius, I'm afraid I've some bad news."  

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas. Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas.  

"Your parents they've been killed."  

On, on they send. On without end. Their joyful tone, to every home. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong. Ding. 

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~   

*This chapter is dedicated to the lovely **Harmony Slytherin who beta-ed it for me! Thanks so much Harmony, I appreciate it! I don't usually do dedications, but she's so nice and an awesome writer! This is for you, girlie!***

Authors Note: Hi guys! Sorry again for taking so long…it's long though, as usual. I'm going to attempt a new schedule: about 2 weeks for each new chapter. I've already started chapter 11, so I'll be trying, I promise. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed A Novus Vita too, hugs to those who did! About the chapter now-a lot of songs, I'm guilty, but most of them fit pretty well, if I do say so myself! The whole 5th amendment thing is kind of an inside joke…stupid, but hilarious to anyone who gets it…no one who'll read it, but whatever. THANKS TO ALL THE REVIEWERS!!! You guys make my day! ^_^ And those **wonderful people are:**

Bunny chan *^* You reviewed! I was in shock…the famous Bunny Chan, reviewing something I wrote…for all the chapters…I'm in awe. *bows down* thank you thank you thank you!

Colee *^* Thanks for the review! I'll try to hurry with the next chapter…promise! Glad you liked my story!

Cquill13 *^* Hiya! Thanks for reviewing! :) Glad you liked the pranks…I'm not a prank player myself, so it takes me awhile to get one to be realistic or funny…wish I had magic too! Um, well, Benny Weasley would be my theory for the Weasley twins we all know and love…

Destiny Phoenix *^* Thanks, as always, for the review! I'm glad you think I'm brilliant, I do try my hardest for you guys! Yes, you should update…or have you already and I was a bad girl and didn't check? Uh…email me when you update? 

Dhiammara *^* Interesting name…thanks for the review! In answer to your question: Lily and the girls did get some credit, but they really didn't care. It was the boys who soak up the attention and detention if you know what I mean ^_^ Good question! Hope you like this!

Diana Snape *^* Thank you so much for reviewing! The expressions are basically Traci's personality, glad you think I'm funny, I'm happy *someone* was okay with the Annie (I didn't mean for it to be so similar, but it was the first thing I ever wrote…), and Siri has to be hilarious it's his nature, I'm only the author ;) Thanks again!

E.R.C. Potter *^* I've always pictured the Marauders (Sirius in particular) doing something stupid like that…taking the credit openly…anyway, thanks so much for reviewing! I love your stories too!

Fried Coffeeholic *^* Interesante pen name…oh no! It's the evil keyboard! Run for your life! I have this theory that Lucius Malfoy is older then the Marauders…maybe he'll be a 7th year so they'll prank him too…I'll think about it. Thanks for the review! Good luck on writing your fic!

Enelfitay *^* I'll try to keep it up, thanks! I adore heights! Honest! Ok, well, thanks for reviewing! In the words of your theatre arts teacher: Yeah you! (for reviewing…) ^_^

Harmony Slytherin *^* Hi girlie! Like the dedication? Well, I luv Cass too…don't we all? No? right…thanks for reviewing all 9 chapters! I was so honored that you did, I remember reading your story and feeling so odd, like I could never get that good. It's so nice to see that some people do like my story (to my surprise). Well, more James vs. Mr. P here! Thanks again!

Jilly Chan *^* Actually, you said 'Donna' not 'Bianca' instead of 'Traci' dearie. No matters, though, I got the point! I need more expressions for when she visits them, either next chapter or over the summer…haven't decided yet. Thanks for the reviews!

Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune *^* Hello my French reviewer! (I remembered this time) Thanks as always for reviewing, you're so nice! So now I'm a fly? Okies…anyway, I took my own time, sadly for you, but here it is, nice and long! Hope you like it!

Ley *^* Thanks sooooo much for reviewing! Poor Ms. Doufahn is so messed up, I'm evil lolz. So glad I left you in stitches…I think…right, well, thanks again!

Lily Evans *^* You make my life difficult! 'Lovely…' How should I respond to that? I need a comment I can write back to you…actually, that took up a whole line…*grins* thanks! :)

Mati *^* Glad ya love my story *tears* I feel so loved…er…next chapter will be relatively soon, although I can't say this one was…hope the length makes up for it though. 

Milkyweed *^* Glad I'm so funny! Peoples tell me that, and I don't really believe them…you people must be easy to please! Thanks a lot for the review, hope this was good too!

Naavi *^* Bestie! Hugs yet again for reviewing! I'm glad you look forward to my chapters (I know I do for yours). Don't ask about the long chapters *sigh* It's a bad habit…although, it does make up for my long updates. Oh, and we settled the cheer thing…I can cheer, you've got everything else athletic :) Luv ya!

Orange *^* I'm assuming you meant funny, not farni prank…thanks! I liked it too…is that un-modest? Right, well, thanks!

SilverPhoenixWings *^* MWAZ! Thanks for reviewing so much! And chattin' with me online! You're so nice! I can't believe someone dared to call me a goddess _splat There goes my ego! I'm not brilliant, but thanks anyway. I've always wanted to be a lefty, by the way (they get special scissors!). I luv spazzing Cass…You had to think Bella would rub off sooner or later. Thanks for all the reviews, I luv ya!_

Star*Dust *^* Thanks for reviewing so far, hope you get to finish! I'm definitely happy that you have looked at this, your opinion means a lot to me, like I wrote in Harmony's comment, you were another of those people I thought I'd never be as good as or get a review from. Thanks so much!

Star Angel *^* Hi! I loved your happy dance *nods* Very talented. I'm actually watching Olympic ice dancing as I type. Thanks sooo much for the review! ^_^

Storm Witch RD *^* Is it just me or did you switch pen names? Anyway, I'll try my hardest **not to break canon rules…I know I'm not brilliant, but as this story was my first, I'm excused (I hope). Thanks so much for the review!   **

~*Twisted*LJ*Fan*~ *^* Ok, it took me forever to get all the ~ and * to be in the right spot…thanks for the review! I'll try to keep things up…hope this is good too!

Valicity *^* Nice pen name…it's sounds cool…thanks so much for the review!

Young-at-heart *^* Thanks for the review! Glad you think I'm hilarious, although truthfully, I'm not. But if you say so, I'll just nod and agree! Lolz. Thanks again!


	11. Startling Revelations

**The Prince and The Pauper**

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter 11: Startling Revelations 

~*^*~

"W-what?" Sirius gasped.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius," Edward Potter said, looking directly into Sirius' eyes.

"M-my parents? But…But what've they done to anyone?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, Sirius, they've done nothing. Nothing at all," Edward said softly.

"But…but their my parents! Who in their right mind would be interested in **them** of all people," Sirius asked, still not taking it all in.

"Well, he's not in his right mind, Sirius. Lord Voldemort is not in his not mind, believe me," Mr. Potter said disgustedly. 

"My parents…I mean, I guess…I guess I can't blame Him," he spat out the name, "For wanting to get rid of them, but still," Sirius said weakly.

James walked over to his friend and embraced him. Sirius started to sob and his shoulders began to shake. Lily watched helplessly as he cried onto his best friend's shoulder, and Mr. Potter went back to the fire place to converse with the head in the fire after another look at his son and surrogate son.

"Sirius?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Sirius asked, trying, and failing, to look cheerful.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, and gave him a hug, fighting back her own tears.

"It's okay, they never liked me much anyway," he said quietly, tears streaming openly down his face.

"Sirius," Lily said softly.

"C'mon, Sirius, you know that's not true," said James, who was sitting with his face in his hands.

"Jay, please, not now," Sirius replied. 

"Sirius?" Mr. Potter asked softly.

"Yes, Mr. P?" Sirius asked.

"They…they went through the-the rubble, and it turns out that…Andie is alive, but in bad conditions," Mr. Potter said.

"W-what?" Sirius asked faintly, for the second time in the last half hour.

"Who's Andie?" Lily asked James, as Sirius didn't look like he'd be in a mood to explain.

"Andie? Well, her real name is Andromeda, and she's Sirius' younger sister," James answered.

"Sirius has a sister?" Lily asked, astonished. 

"Yeah, she's a year younger then us," James replied.

"Why didn't he ever mention her?" Lily questioned James again.

"What is this, Scotland Yard? Ask him! I don't know why he doesn't mention Andie," James said.

"Calm down, James. Touché," Lily muttered. There was no way she was going to ask Sirius while he was still upset.

"Sirius, Andie has been taken to St. Mungo's. She's in critical condition, which normally wouldn't allow anyone save…parents to see her, but if I take you, they'll let me," Mr. Potter said, stepping away from the fireplace. 

"Thanks Mr. P," Sirius said absentmindedly.

"Will we go too, Father?" James asked, meaning himself and Lily.

"James," Edward Potter said in a warning voice, "Please, not now. And it's up to Sirius who goes."

"You can both come. Besides, Lily, you've never met Andie, and you're like a second sister to me," Sirius said slowly, still not focused on anything.

"Then that's settled. We'll go tomorrow. Everyone, let's get some sleep. We've presents to open tomorrow, then we'll leave for the hospital, and if you'd like, Lily, you may visit the girls at St. Bernadette's afterwards until dinner," Mr. Potter said.

"Goodnight," Lily said to each of the three males in the grand living room, "I'm sorry, Sirius," she said to him as she passed. 

She of all people knew what it was like when your parents died. Sure, she'd been but a little child, remembering very little about the night, but she could clearly recall that first feeling: complete, utter aloneness. 

As she pulled up the covers of her queen-sized canopy bed (which Mr. Potter had insisted she sleep in) she whispered, "Lord, help Sirius. Help him realized he doesn't have to be alone. Help him know we're all here for him. I'll try my hardest…like Sari did for me."

~*^*~

"Happy Christmas, Lily!" James and Sirius came in to her room.

Sirius, she noted, was still looking pale, but forced a smile on his face.

"Happy Christmas, boys," Lily replied.

"Come open presents, Lil, we're not waiting until 11:00 to open our presents!" James whined.

"And what time **is** it?" Lily asked suspiciously. 

"That's not important," James said nervously, shifting his weight.

"James?" she asked in dangerously.

"Time," he forced a laugh, "Means nothing."

"James Potter, I'm warning you," Lily threatened.

"Son las siete menos doce," James answered, in Spanish. 

(A/N: There's your answer, Sierra-I take Spanish)

"IT'S SIX FOURTY-EIGHT? YOU ARE BOTH DEAD!" Lily screeched, furious.

"Habla espanol?" James asked quickly and darted across the room.

"Si, hablo espanol…and you are **dead** James Potter!" Lily screamed and chased after him. 

They ran down the grand staircase and into the living room where Mr. Potter and Charles sat beside the Christmas tree…and the presents. 

"Happy Christmas Lil-" Mr. Potter started to say, but stopped as she darted past him. 

"JAMES!" she shrieked, "I know you're here-somewhere." 

"He's right behind you, Lily dearest," Sirius said with a grin, showing up right behind her.

"He's right behind-HE'S RIGHT BEHIND ME?" she screamed and turned around to find James smirking at her.

"Ja-ames!" she whined. 

"Lil-ee!" he imitated her.

"Geez, I thought if anyone would be this annoying to her it would be me," Sirius said, and grabbed both of their arms (one each) and pulled them back into the living room where Mr. Potter was still waiting.

"Present time, present time, open a present and see what's inside!" he and James squealed.

(A/N: Yes, I borrowed that from 'Blue's Clues' after being forced to watch it 4 times in a row *gag*)

"How are you doing, Sirius?" Mr. Potter asked quietly.

He looked up at James' father and looked him square in the eye.

"Fine."

And that was the end of that.

Charles took the liberty of breaking the very uncomfortable silence.

"So, who wants their presents?" he asked. Lily silently thanked him, and quickly said, "Me!" and was followed by James and Sirius immediately. 

Lily was surprised to find not one or two presents for herself, as was her pile most Christmases, but  a big stack of presents, all for her. For a moment she was speechless.

"Well, are you going to open something, Lily? We're under strict orders for our guest to be the first to open her present. Usually that's Sirius, but he's less of a guest then you," James said, and nudged a present towards her.

She took it, her hands shaking. She certainly wasn't used to this, and quite frankly, it scared her. 

"Open it already!" Sirius urged her, and she slowly unwrapped the blue striped wrapping paper. 

She opened it and took out the package inside. It was a box. The box was a dark golden color. On the top was a glass circle that was carved into it. The glass was covered by a silvery fog that she couldn't feel. She held it. It was heavy for something so small. She opened it, and inside it was divided into eight sections. Love. Fear. Anger. Hope. Sorrow. Faith. Pride. The eighth section wasn't labeled. 

"What is it?" she looked up at Mr. Potter.

"It's a Sententia box."

Lily tried to nod like she understood, but she knew absolutely nothing about this object. Charles, once again, came to the rescue.

"Lily, a Sententia box is a tremendous gift. It will last until your thoughts and emotions have faded, and believe me, that takes an enormous effort to do. As you'll notice there are eight sections. As you go through life, you add things to the different sections. So under love, you might put something to symbolize family."

"But I don't have a family," Lily said quietly.

"That's only an example, Miss Lily. Under sorrow you might put something to symbolize your family as well, to show your sorrow. What you put in the box is to be thought through and used in great caution, however. You'll come back to the Sententia many times to remind yourself of who you are when you need it. Be careful what you put in there," Charles warned her, looking a little solemn.

"What…what about the eight section?" Lily asked.

"That's for you to decide. But once you do decide, you can't change it," Mr. Potter said.

Lily held the box carefully. She looked in the box for a card, but there was none.

"It's from Charles and myself, Lily, we found no need for a card, but use the Sententia wisely; it'll be of great use to you one day, m'dear," Mr. Potter said.

"Thank you," Lily replied, looking at the two men straight in the eye.

"You're very welcome," Charles answered, and Mr. Potter smiled at her.

"We hope you enjoy it. I had one when I was a little older then you. Still have it, but I don't trust James or Sirius with one."

"Hey!" cried James, offended.

"Presents for everyone!" Sirius yelled, looking like himself for once, and they all dove at the presents (literally).

~*^*~

Later on, they were preparing to go to the hospital. Mr. Potter took James, Sirius, and Lily to St. Mungo's by Floo Powder. Sirius looked slightly pale, and James didn't have his usual smile on his face.

"May I help you, sir?" a tall, blond nurse asked from behind a counter.

"Frieda! How lovely it is to see you again, though on a somber occasion, I'm afraid," Mr. Potter greeted her. 

James looked confused, as did Sirius, but Lily was far to used to being shocked that next to nothing startled her anymore.

"Edward! Edward Potter…wow. You look great Ed, it's just been so long…oh look, is this your son? Last time I saw James he was six! How old are you now, James?" 

"Well, ma'am, I'm eleven years old, and I'm sure a young lady like yourself isn't but much older," he replied smoothly. Sirius nearly snorted and Lily looked away. Mr. Potter, however, laughed openly along with 'Frieda.'

"Well, Ed, he is most certainly his father's son. Now who are these other two?" Frieda asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Kids, this is Miss Frieda Janskée. Frieda, this is a friend of James' Lily Evans. She's a wonderful young lady. And this is Sirius Black, my son's best friend and my surrogate son. Actually, his sister, Miss Andromeda Black, is the reason we're here."

"Ah. Well, I'll take you to see her. Right away…here," she activated a purple floating light, "Follow this. It'll take you to Andromeda's room."

"Thank you, Frieda. Lovely to see you again," Mr. Potter replied, smiling.

"Likewise. Have…well, having fun isn't the most intelligent statement, but have a pleasant trip here," she shook her head sadly and turned back to her paperwork.

They followed the light to a room on the eight floor. Lily's legs felt as if they were about to fall off. 

"Here we are," Mr. Potter whispered.

Sirius entered first. When Lily finally got in she saw a small girl laying on a white bed. In fact, everything in the room was white, from the curtains to the ceiling to the sheets to the chairs…everything was a pure white color. She focused in on the girl. She looked tiny, and almost frightened in her sleep. She had limp, damp dark brown hair that was framing her pale face. Her eyes were closed, but her facial features looked identical to Sirius, if not more serious rather than his usually playful expressions.

"Andie?" Sirius croaked. The little girl stirred.

"Siwi?" she yawned and tried to lift herself up to a sitting position, but Sirius and James rushed to either side of the hospital bed to assist her.

"Jamie?" she yawned again.

"Mmm-hmm," he murmured, before signaling to Sirius to help her up at the count of three.

"Siwi? It's you, Siwi, right?" she asked, panicked.

"Yes, Andie, it's me. Don't worry. I'm here," he said softly.

"How are you doing, Miss Andie?" Edward asked, sauntering into the room.

"Uncle Eddie?" she asked weakly.

"Yes, it's me, angel. How're you feeling?" he inquired.

"I'm tired, and they won't give me sweets," she complained, but neither Lily nor the others missed the tears she blinked back.

"Who's she?" Andie asked all of a sudden, in a nasty voice.

"Andie, this is my good friend Miss Lily Evans. Lil, this is my sister Andie. She's a year younger than us," Sirius introduced the two girls, smiling at Lily.

"Nice to meet you, Andie," Lily said kindly, smiling at the younger girl.

"Not nice at all," she muttered in return, giving Lily a Look.

James glanced at her in surprise. Andie was usually the sweetest thing towards anyone, and he supposed this was a horrible situation, but she was just outright rude.

"Andie!" Sirius exclaimed, astonished, but Lily shook her head.

"Don't, Sirius, please. Please?" she asked him, while Andie glared at her.

He forced a smile at her, and replied, "Fine. So, Andie, what'd you say if I told you your favorite older brother has brought you some sugar quills?"

Andie's face lit up, and Lily thought, 'Why doesn't she like me?'

~*^*~

Later on, Mr. Potter had convinced the nurses (with the help of Frieda) to release Andie with them.

They stopped by St. Bernadette's. Lily was thrilled to see all of her older friends, most particularly Sari. She was attacked by Traci, Anastasia, and Donna as soon as she walked in, and embraced warmly by Sari afterwards. She reintroduced them to James and Sirius, and exchanged presents with them.

The only set back was that Andie made a snide comment about her being an orphan, and somehow, Lily found it slightly disturbing. She miraculously maintained her temper and refrained from adding, "You're an orphan too."

~*^*~

She went home to the Potter's house and went into her room. Andie hadn't been nice to her for the rest of the day, snapping at her and staring angrily at her. She would scowl if anyone mentioned it, so Lily made sure to stay out of her way. She sighed and started combing her hair. She hummed softly:

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear?

For auld lang syne.

We'll take a cup of kindness yet,

And days of auld lang syne."

All of a sudden she heard voices outside her room. She crept towards the door and peaked out through the crack. She saw Sirius standing there with  Andie sitting in her floating chair (magical version of a wheel chair that floats and is controlled by a lever). 

"Why on earth are you so rude to Lily, Andie? She's the sweetest person, and was hurt by what you said! How'd you feel about that?" Sirius asked his sister.

"I feel fine, and what, you talk about me behind my back?"

"She's one of my closest friends, I know what she's thinking by looking at her face!"

"You want to know why I was rude, Siri? Do you want to know why?" Andie demanded, her face red, "I don't exactly feel like being replaced. Maybe you're fine about Father and Mummy dieing and leaving us alone, you have James' family. I don't want to end up in St. Bernadette's along side Lily," she spat out the name, "and you like her better then me now!"

And with that, she burst into tears.

Shocked for about a split second, Sirius quickly regained usage of his limbs and rushed to his sister's side. 

"Andie, Andie, Andie," he sighed, "Do you have any idea how upset I was about Father and Mum-Mother? Very…I almost cried with relief when they said you were alive…James and Lily helped me, and I love Lily like a **second** sister, but you are my first and **bestest** sister," he teased her, pulling on a lock of brown hair that was in front of her eyes.

"I love you," Andie said softly, and Sirius kissed her cheek.

"Me too," he said, and Lily burst out laughing, making the siblings look up, startled.

"Lils?" he asked amused.

"Me too? She just said she loved you, you git, you're supposed to say I love you too…me too…you idiotic prat!" she giggled.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Lily. For being rude, I just didn't want to be replaced by you," Andie apologized to the redhead, who sighed.

"Don't worry about it. You were better then me when my parents died…and don't worry, you can **have** Sirius, I don't want him," she replied.

"Hey! Lily!" the mentioned complained.

Lily rolled her eyes, "What, can't handle the truth Black?"

"No, Evans, I just wanted to make sure I warned you before hexing you to death!"

"I'd like to see you try," she smirked, and James sneaked up from behind Sirius, winking at her, and suddenly grabbed Sirius and screamed loudly. 

Sirius jumped about a foot in the air, "JAMES POTTER!" and the two boys chased each other around.

The two girls smiled at each other, and giggled as James dumped water all over Sirius' head. 

"NOT funny," he protested and walked down the stairs, only to bump into the wall. They all cracked up, Andie particularly hard, and Lily realized she'd gained a friend.

~*^*~

The next night was more somber. Mr. Potter paced in his study. It was time to tell Lily the truth, and he wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest. He took one last deep breath and walked confidently out the room.

He found Lily sitting with James, Sirius, and Andie near the fireplace. They were playing a game of Gobstones. He hated to do this and cursed the blasted ministry (and Dumbledore) for making him doing this…for forcing yet another concern, worry, fear into the young girl's heart…for (in the long run) destroying a part of her innocence.

He was about to tell her the whole story of her parents' death.

He cleared his throat. 

"Ahem," he said loudly, and the kids looked up at him.

"Hello, Father," James smiled. He nodded back to him, and sat down next to his son on the couch. James had been a lot more open to him and less nasty since Sirius' parents had…and Andie was…he sighed again. Part of this involved their parents' death as well.

"I need to talk to you four. About something rather serious. Dead serious, actually," he began, the twinkle normally in his sharp eyes (so like Dumbledore's) were not present.

"Father?" James asked, concerned, "What, do you have to leave? Again?"

"No, it's nothing like that…I have to explain something to Lily about…about…" he sighed one last time before saying it.

"It's about Voldemort."

James, Sirius, and Andie all gasped. Lily looked confused, and he thought inwardly, 'This is it.'

"Lily, Voldemort is an evil wizard. Very evil. He's as bad as you can get, and worse. He's…he's like…like Hitler in the muggle world. But worse. They shared similar ideas though. Where Hitler tried to destroy Jews, Voldemort is trying to destroy…Muggle- borns."

Lily gasped, and looked extremely alarmed.

"He's been recognized as one of the deadliest wizards since Grindelwald. He kills for fun, and his workers, called Death Eaters help him…and once, about five years ago, he managed to capture an extremely important document…the list of Muggle-born wizards and witches in all of Great Britian and western Europe. The list of Muggle-born witches and wizards that would be excepted into Hogwarts once they turned 11. Think about it…that's about 10 years of Muggle-born people to our society. At least 10 a year, for 10 years, would be due to Hogwarts," Mr. Potter took a deep breath and continued.

"He killed many of the Muggle-borns all ready aware of the magic society. Then he went after the ones that would be accepted into Hogwarts eventually, and their families. Any child born with magical ability the year after was safe, but your name was on that list…so he went to your house one night…your parents were killed for that reason, Lily, and miraculously, we're not even sure **why**, he left you alive."

Lily gasped and started to take deep breaths. This couldn't be happening…her parents had been killed-no, murdered!-by some psychopathic, deranged wizard who got a little wand-happy and power-itching and decided to kill muggle-borns and their families! She couldn't think for a second…and then it dawned on her…it was her fault. If it weren't for her, her parents wouldn't be on that list.

James, Sirius, and Andie looked at her, astonished. She had gone pale, and she was holding the toss pillow on the couch so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Lily?" James asked and moved towards her, but she jumped away from him, avoiding touching him, or anything. 

"I…I have to think  about this," she said, and dashed up the stairs.

Mr. Potter sighed, "Well, that went well."

James, Sirius, and Andie just looked at him, and he shrugged and walked out of the room.

~*^*~

Author's Note: Okay everyone, once again I'm so sorry for taking so long. I know I always say I'll be quick, and I never am. I will try to be quick next time, but I'm not going to promise anything. So I'll make a deal with you guys – if I get 75 reviews, I will post the next chapter, no matter what, even if it's short. If it's really short, I'll post it and then make a Part II of the chapter. If I don't get that many reviews I can take my time. This chapter was hard to write, because I just killed off my first characters and Lily found out about Voldemort, we meet Andie…lots happened. Sorry again guys. And for the Spanish references, I can't figure out how to make Spanish grammar signs, so sorry.

Disclaimer: You know the drill, JKR owns anything HP, I don't.

Dedication: Okay, I'd like to dedicate chapters every once in awhile. This is for **Diana Snape**, because I was talking to her when I was told to write, and quick, so you have her to thank that this didn't take another month to get out. Thank you for getting me to get my act together and finish this Diana!

Thank you to:

Amerkat *^* I agree, chocolate is WAY better than vanilla, peoples! Lol Thanks for reviewing, and I'm touched that you think I'm that good! :)

Angelic-Babe *^* Thanks for the review! To make a Fav. Author, when you logon, go to Favorite Authors and type the Author ID (ex. Mine's 118848). Glad you like this so far!

Bertie *^* Thank you so much! I **always** forget that his name was Samuel Clemens…it's on trivia stuff all the time, and I tend to forget. Thanks for telling me & reviewing.

Caitlin22888 *^* Thanks for reviewing. I don't know if you reviewed before either, but I'm so glad you like my story! Hope you like this too!

Crystal Lily *^* Sorry this so took long, but it was hard to write. Thanks for the review! 

Cquill13 *^* well, this took long too. Thanks for being such a faithful reviewer to my stories, I appreciate it so much! You're welcome for reviewing, and I'm glad you like this! Hope this was good as well.

Destiny Phoenix *^* How's the challenge going? You're welcome, btw. Hope you liked this chapter too. All sad, I'm afraid…thanks for the review!

Diana Snape *^* Like the dedication? It was thanks to you that I worked on this, it would've taken much longer…I still can't believe you guys printed out my chapters…::the insanity:: but I feel loved. Harmony told you about the UCCEON club? Interesting…I chose to think not poor Uncle Severus, though. Lol j/k Sorry Lils isn't a Quidditch babe, but you'll get over it. Yes, I know about the names, it was completely coincidental. Thanks for reviewing! 

E.C.R. Potter *^* Thanks for reviewing, as always. I'm glad you liked Sirius' names, I thought it was cute. Here's his reaction…and some other stuff…thanks again!

Erin *^* So sorry this took awhile…I'm happy that you'll get over the cliffie, I know it was evil, but I was in a weird mood. Thanks for the review.

Fried Coffeeholic *^* Maer arad to you too…lol. Thanks for the review!  

Harmony Slytherin *^* You're welcome for the dedication! You deserve it…oozles, I got brownie points? Wow…I'm glad you love-n-hated this chapter if that's a compliment. You're awesome, and thanks a million times for getting *counts on fingers* let's see…Diana Snape (1), Star*Dust (2), and Sierra Charm (3) to read my stories, I really appreciate that coming from you! mwaz!

Jeanne *^* Thanks for the review! I know, poor Siri, right? Hey! You get writing too, girlie, because I love A Weasley Summer and The Cousin! Thanks again!

Lee *^* Thanks for reviewing! Glad you think this is cool, I try my best! ;)

Ley *^* Please don't quick yourself! Thanks so much for reviewing this and ANV, I really appreciate it! Hope you like this chapter too!

Milkyweed *^* Thanks for the compliment. Hope you like this chapter as well. Thanks so much for reviewing! 

Nae *^* thanks for reviewing! Oh no…so you're a poet and didn't know it too? *sigh* too bad. Um…are you crying cuz it was a sad chapter? Or just…crying? Thanks again!

PhoenixGal *^* Thanks! I'm glad you like my story! Best **ever**? I doubt it, but I'm glad you liked this all the same.

Sierra Charm *^* HEY! Thanks for the dedication in ALS! I feel loved! I'm so glad you like my story, it's a HUGE compliment to me. I loved chapter 5's review, my longest, I think. What does LMAO mean? I like Charles too, he's great. I think after this chapter you'll know, but yes, I take espanol. MHQ does not currently have chamber pots, but maybe if you're a good little girl I'll think about it. I loved all your reviews, they were great, and if I responded to all of them, it'd be as long as this chapter, so I'm just going to say: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! AND HOME BEFORE DARK! ^_~

Sierra Sitruc *^* Um…yeah…hehe…interesting review…well, hope you've found this, it took long, I know…go toodle off and look for number twelve now!

SilverPhoenixWings *^* I love Sirius' names part too…I was hoping peoples would like that. You wrote out the French toast line…pinned it on your wall…okay! *nods* lol I'm glad you liked it! Let me know if you post the story you took down or need help with it. Yes, I killed them…didn't even *think* of Sari, actually….Thanks for reviewing!

Snowlily *^* Thanks for the review! I only just recently got people to beta for me, I want to rewrite the first few chapters though. I'm glad you like my story!

Star*Dust *^* Thanks so much for reviewing! I finally finished TLL! As I said to Diana, you PRINTED OUT MY CHAPTERS??? Still can't believe that. I can imagine you laughing about James not missing a beat on a bus full of people *giggles* I'm glad you like my story, it means a lot to me! Thanks again!

Valicity *^* You're welcome…thanks for the review! And the compliment! I hope you liked this!


	12. Quiola Quillons, New Year's, and the Dre...

The Prince and the Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Twelve: Quiola Quillons, New Year's, and the Dream

~*^*~

Lily stormed up to her room. Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks. How could they not have told her? How could that-that **thing** kill her parents? She crawled up on her bed and cried, wishing she'd never been born. She hardly ever cried, but she figured this could be the exception.

She angrily wiped away the tears. She didn't deserve them. Her parents died because of her. She hated it so much. Lily started punching her pillow, like Sari had told her to do when she was younger. Of course, the only things she was upset about when she was little was not getting her favorite ice cream (chocolate-marshmallow swirl, of course).

 Lily heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breath and quickly wiped away any tears left on her face. 

"Come in," she said calmly. She obviously couldn't lock out these people in their own house.

The door opened and James stood there.

"May I come in?" he asked her, ever the polite boy due to having an important father.

"You already are," she pointed out to him, managing a tiny smile.

"Actually, Li, I haven't stepped out of the hall, wood floor and into your cream-colored carpeted room. So technically, I'm not," he teased her, but stepped into her room anyway. 

He walked over  to her and sat on the bed. He looked at her closely, and she fidgeted slightly under his stare. Finally he sighed.

"Not doing to well, eh?" he asked her gently.

"No, not really," she agreed and nodded her head.

"Now, I know you aren't going to believe me, but…it's not your fault. You didn't ask to be made magical," he said, and when she started to cut in continued quickly, "Or at least you didn't ask realizing that magic isn't fantasy."

She started to object half-heartedly, but he interrupted her.

"No, it's not your fault. And please, don't stay here wallowing in self-pity. It started to snow, and Sirius and Andie challenged me to a Sibling Snow Ball War, and I haven't a sibling, but other than Sirius you're the closest to it. So, would you be an honorary sister of mine?" he asked her, holding out his hand.

Lily smiled. She didn't know what she'd done (other than practically murder her own parents) to deserve such a great friend.

"Okay," she agreed, and giggled a bit.

"What, is my hair sticking up? Don't answer that," he mumbled, turning red.

She laughed, "Actually, I was going to say….let's go kick some Black butt!"

~*^*~

After James and Lily emerged victorious (only Andie would admit that, grudgingly, mind you; Sirius was convinced they cheated), they went inside for a round of hot chocolate and then to bed. 

The end of vacation was approaching fast. Lily spent most of her free time diddaly-dattaling and playing with James, Sirius, and Andie. She was going to be upset when she had to leave Andie behind and go back to Hogwarts. The plan was that she was going to stay with Mr. Potter until absolutely necessary for her to go elsewhere. Over the summer Edward was set on trying to gain custody of her and Sirius to stay at the Garden.

On New Year's James' father  threw his annual New Year Celebration at the Garden. Charles and the cast of fifty people hired to make the bash perfect were to be seen consulting Mr. P with certain issues ("Shall we have shrimp cocktails or is that too formal? Pigs in a blanket?") and non-stop ruckus was mainly taking place at the Potters Residence.

After being warned numerous times not to do anything that could possibly ruin the party, Mr. Potter (however reluctantly) agreed to let James invite five more friends. Therefore, four envelopes were addressed to Miss Arabella and Miss Cassidy Figg, Mr. Remus Lupin, Mr. Peter Pettigrew, and Miss Melodia Noches. As planned, they all RSVPed and were coming.

"So, what're we going to pull on that old, fat Belgium official?" Sirius asked James the night before the party.

"Wait! Sirius, James…Mr. P. said not to do anything! We promised!" Lily said.

"My dear Lily, we promised not to **ruin** the party! Never once did we say we wouldn't…how shall I put it?…add some **flavor** to the party," Sirius said matter-of-factly.

"Sirius Leo Bartholomew…" Lily started on his names, and he quickly said, "Lily, I won't sabotage anything!"

 Andie started to crack up, "So he finally told you his names?"

Lily filled her in on the…er…Quidditch episode, and she burst out laughing.

"Yes, well Andromeda Daniella Alexandria Georgina Black, you'd better watch out!" Sirius said.

Andie looked at him, "What? You think that's bad? I have three middle names, Siri, you have seven-SEVEN!"

"Yeah, well...I'm going to go owl Remus," he said and ran off.

Lily and Andie took one look at each other and exploded with giggles. James, who they had forgotten he was still there, sighed and ran after his best friend.

~*^*~

The next day was New Year's Eve. Cass, Bella, Melodia, Remus, and Peter came over at five o'clock. The rest of the guests (mainly everyone important) were arriving in an hour. After being warned again not to cause trouble (to which Lily glared at Sirius) Mr. Potter was off, busy with preparations. 

Meanwhile, the Marauders had preparations of their own to make. 

"Green slimy stuff?" Sirius asked.

 "Silly string, Sirius," Lily corrected, still glaring at him.

"And check!" Melodia chirped helpfully.

"Traitor," Lily muttered darkly before glaring at her.

"Can't you do anything other than glaring? It's starting to freak me out," Cass said, and when Lily only glared at her, she winced, and then her face lit up.

"Glare Bear!" Cass giggled. 

The others just stared at her as she burst out laughing. When she eventually gained her composure, she said, "Glare Bear! Lily's new nickname! Glare Bear, Glare Bear, Glare Bear…" she started humming, and Melodia finally couldn't take any more.

"Glare Bear!" she said, and Lily started to glare at her, but then realized what she was doing.

"I'm not glaring, I'm scowling!" she said grumpily, and the rest of them (minus Bella, who was reading the new Daily Prophet Best Seller, Hogwarts, A History) started to crack up.

"Sure, Lily," Cass nodded sympathetically, "Glare Bear, dear, why don't you toodle along and find out if James bought enough confetti from that Muggle place?"

"I'm not Glare Bear," she murmured, before walking out of the room (amiss laughter).

Later that evening, all the guests had come. Lily thought Sirius might've agreed to call off the prank when he saw John Kelibister, the best Keeper in all of the IQL (International Quidditch League). Sadly, she was proven wrong at exactly 9:20 and four seconds.

The dining room, living room, and hall were covered with guests chatting noisily when all of a sudden the lights dimmed. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen…I give you…Sirius and the Rain Dancers!"

Bright lights started flashing different colors throughout each of the large rooms. Red, orange, green, purple, pink, blue, and a bright white one. Water started dripping from the ceiling and little creatures (Lily found out they were the children house elfs who couldn't resist obeying Sirius) started doing a rain dance around the room. 

Of course, they were led by Sirius. 

He led them around the room, dancing with tiny drums in their hands, singing nonsense at the top of their lungs. A bright light flashed, the kind of light at a disco, and it looked as if the parade of creatures (plus Sirius) were moving in slow motion. The water grew steadily harder and harder until the guests were drenched. After a long while, the parade ended with a loud "RAIN!" and with a flash of light, the rain stopped and the house elfs left, leaving Sirius still banging on the drum in front of everyone. 

"Rain! Give us the RAIN, the Rain, pouring, trickling, WATER!" he sang, and then stopped as he realized it had gone quiet. At least 150 sets of eyes were looking directly at him.

"Um…funny, right?" he asked, and Mr. Potter slowly walked up to him and pressed his right hand on his shoulder. Hard.

"I am very sorry folks for this small," he emphasized the small, "incident. Feel free to hurt this one in any way possible."

The guests laughed, but Lily could tell Mr. Potter had been serious. 

"Thank you all for coming, I'm afraid we have some damage-control to do. I hope you had a good time, other then getting…drenched. Good evening," he finished, and with a meaningful look at the group of kids, walked up the stairs.

~

"That was completely irresponsible, James!" Mr. Potter shouted angrily after the guests had left. 

"I'm sorry Father," James answered quietly.

"Sorry? You're sorry. Hey, praise the Lord, he's **sorry**!"

The 'Marauders' winced.

"Mr. P, it was my fault," Sirius said.

Mr. Potter snorted, "Obviously. Which is why, if your parents had been alive and you had somewhere to go, you'd be temporarily suspended from the Garden. Apparently you're in luck," he finished dryly.

They all winced again, and lowered their heads.

"We are sorry, Mr. Potter, and we hope you'll forgive us," Lily said, and motioned for the others to follow her.

When they got in the hall, she turned on Sirius.

"Well, I hope you're happy! James will get in more trouble, Mr. Potter won't invite us back, you are completely irresponsible!" Lily shouted, and got out the Floo Powder for the twins, Peter, Melodia, and Remus.

~

After the incident, the rest of vacation went by quickly. Soon Lily, James, and Sirius were once again boarding the Hogwarts Express. 

The majority of people coming home from the holidays were surprised to find a subdued group of Marauders on the train.

Which is why Deana Slater was walking with a definite bounce in her step, whistling a tune under her voice, happy that she for once might win a bet.

And because of her carefree mood, she never saw it coming.

~*^*~

An hour later, the Marauders were diddley-daddling in their compartment. Sirius was insisting that quills do indeed deserve to have names. He took out his 24 Quiola Quillons. 24 different colors, and unfortunately for the Marauders minus Sirius, 24 different names. 

"See, Mel," he started, and dodged a slap by Melodia for that "annoying" nickname.

"Y'see, this red quill? His name is Lawrence. And this blue one? Her name is Dominique. And this yellow one? His name is Ricky Ricardo. And this green one? Her name is-"

"SHUT UP!" Melodia screamed and started smacking her head into the wall.

"Ouch!" _Smack. _"Ouch!" _Smack! _"Ouch!" _Smack! _"Ow-" she started again, but all of a sudden the lights on the train flickered and went out.

"Ah!" a voice shrieked, and they all jumped in their compartment. Remus finally gained control, and whispered, "Lumos." The pale light illuminated his tired, gaunt face.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Most of them muttered. Cass being the exception, was hiding her face in Lily's lap, whispering, "I don't like this…definitely _do not_ like this…."

"Um…you're afraid of the dark?" James guessed. 

Peter and Bella gave him a Look. 

"No really, Captain Obvious," Melodia rolled her eyes, but just then the lights came back on. 

"I wonder what that was?" Lily asked them, voicing the question almost everyone on the train was wondering. 

They all shrugged, having no idea what had happened, and Sirius quickly got back "on topic."

"And y'see, Mel, this turquoise one? His name is Ernesto. And this aquamarine one? Her name is Sally Francine. This macaroni-and-cheese one? His name is BJ. And this magenta one? Her name is Persephone," he stated manner-of-factly.

"Persephone?" Cass asked weakly, having regained her composure, slightly.

"Greek goddess," Bella said, and went back to her reading. 

Lily observed her friends. Bella was reading, Cass, staring out the window, obviously still feeling the effects of the darkness. Melodia was trying desperately (and failing) to try and get Sirius to be quiet about his Quiola Quillons. James and Peter were deep in conversation (most likely about Quidditch). Remus though…something was wrong with him, Lily was sure of it. He looked so exhausted, and now that she thought of it, he tended to get like this every so often.

Making a mental note to confront him (or maybe James) about this, she laid her head down and fell into a light slumber.

~*~

The room was dark. 

_And cold, now that she thought of it._

_And now that she had, she couldn't forget the cold, miserable feeling. _

_A silvery mist was swirling around, and a black hooded monster appeared in the doorway. _

_She didn't know what this-thing-was, but she knew she was afraid of it. _

_"Kiss her."_

_The Thing started gliding towards her. He wasn't going to stop, and although she didn't know what 'Kiss' meant, she knew it wasn't a friendly peck on the cheek._

_It reached out its disgusting, rough arm and pulled her towards him. _

_The last thing she could remember was the stench of misery._

_And then the world was black._

_~*~_

"Lily! Lils, c'mon, wake up!" Cass was leaning over her, her face serious for once.

"W-hat?" she stammered, before swallowing and looking at her surroundings.

"Where's that thing? Where is she?" Lily demanded, and jumped up, panicked. 

"Where's what, Lils?" James asked her.

"No time to explain! Follow me!" she said quickly.

"What's the matter, Lily?" Bella asked, struggling to keep up with her redheaded friend.

Lily ignored her and raced through the compartments. Finally she reached her destination. 

"Are you Benny Weasley?" She rounded on a kid far taller than she was, but her tone left him cowering away.

"Y-yes, why?" 

"Have you seen Deana lately?" Lily asked.

The Marauders exchanged puzzled looks. _What's she talking about? _Sirius mouthed to James, who shrugged back to him.

"Deana Slate, Deana?" he asked her.

"Yes, her," Lily said impatiently.

"Not recently," he replied slowly, "But she left over an hour ago to explore the train.

Lily's eyes widened in momentary fear, and quickly bolted out the door and continued through the train in the opposite direction of their compartment.

Her friends followed her as quickly as they could, Sirius and James leading the race of kids, which is why when she stopped dead in her tracks, they nearly crashed into her.

When they looked up to wear Lily was frozen in her steps, they gasped.

There, gliding over towards Deana, was a black hooded creature.

~*~

A/N: Well, I'm sure we all know what *that* is, but I thought I'd just leave you all there. Sorry about the time this took to get out…I had Writer's Block. Sorry to all of you who kept up with this, even though I've been horrid with updating. I have a quick announcement:

·I will be rewriting chapter 1 of this story, hopefully including a prologue. After that, if all goes well, I'll probably be editing the first few chapters after that, because quite frankly, I've made some embarrassing errors and I'd feel much better continuing with a better written beginning. Any suggestions or help will be extremely useful and appreciated.

Disclaimer: JKR's creations belong to her. Enough said.

Thank you to:

~*Crystal Lily*~ *^* Thanks for reviewing again! I appreciate it a lot and hope you like this chapter!

Cquill13 *^* Hey! Have you updated recently? If you have, please let me know! Thanks as always for reviewing! I appreciate that comment so much, about how I (supposedly) capture readers emotions…it means so much to me, so thank you! 

Destiny Phoenix *^* I'm glad you still like this! And that the challenge is going well-have you gotten many responses? Thanks so much for sticking with this, it means a lot to me! 3

Diana Snape *^* Here it is, finally! You're very welcome for the dedication. Sirius' sister wasn't going to be nasty, actually. That was a new development. I need her though…who knows, maybe she'll turn up in a later fic? About visiting hospitals on Christmas – my aunt was in one for an operation, it was horrible. Thanks for reviewing! Love ya! 

Dre *^* I'm glad you love it! Hope you love this one too! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Erin *^* The box thing was meant to be confusing, glad it worked ^_^ Thanks for the review! And the 75 thing I meant to use as an excuse – if I didn't get close to 300, I could take as long as I wanted with this, but I would've anyway. Thanks again!

Heart2Heart *^* Thank you so much for that nice long review! I really appreciate it. Once again, I feel stupid that I didn't know LMAO, but I'm not _that_ bad, I know lol and ROFL and stuff…lol I'm pitiful. Thanks again!

Hi *^* Original name! J/k Why did Sirius' parents die? To tell you the truth, *I* don't know…though after this chapter I'm sure you'll just be adoring me…coughNOT. Lolz

Jeanne *^* It's the brilliant author that puts my writing to shame! Lol Thanks for reviewing again! Yes, we take the small victories…eventually they'll get bigger, we hope. Hope you like this!

Kaydid *^* Thanks for the review! I'm so glad you liked this! Hope this is good as well! ^_^

Lee *^* Thanks for reviewing, and for pointing out my Andie/Andy error. It was _supposed_ to be 'Andie' and I went back to fix it, so thanks! 

Ley *^* And an email you will get when I update! Promise! Thanks for reviewing this story! And ANV! Hope you like this chapter, it's…odd. ;)

Martini Addict *^* Thanks for the translation…for someone online so much, you'd think I'd know that by now *sigh* I'm glad you like this so far! And that my story kinda sucked you in…I've always wanted to do that to someone!

Naavi *^* Hey girlie! Oo, long review! You spelt 'weird' wrong. Lolz sorry, couldn't help myself. Thanks as always for reviewing, and I will review LP soon, I swear! Hehe I liked the hamburger thing…amusing. Luv ya lots! Mwaz! 

Puddles *^* There's 2 of you! So here's Puddles ID number: 192454* Thanks for reviewing! I agree, more Remus (should happen soon) and Peter must die (all in good time – unfortunately, he has to betray L&J before I kill him off). 

Puddles *^* Since there are 2 of you, here's Puddles ID number: 126193* I'm glad I'm updating again, finally. I'm also glad you like my story! Thanks for the review!

Sakurantokyo *^* Well that took a bit to type out…*smiles* Thanks for the review! I don't like cherries, but here's more…way too long, but hey, I try :)

Sierra *^* Thanks so much for the review! Glad you're happy! I like that idea on your bio…cold-hearted murderer Lily! Lol extremely…creative. Thanks again!

Sierra Charm *^* Hey future best-selling author! ^_^ Thanks sooo much for reviewing, I've told you about a dozen times at the very least how much it means to me. I'm glad you liked this so far…and…Harmony…Turtle…uh interesting…lol Thanks again! Luv ya!

Star*Dust *^* Hey S*D! What's new? I haven't spoken to you in a bit. Here's the long-awaited chapter ::sorry bout that wait:: Update TLL soon, please? Pretty please? Thanks for the review, and for letting me know about that Andie/Andy mistake (which I fixed, thank god). Luv ya!

Thanks to all of you! Oh, and one more note:

**Anyone who wishes to be emailed with updates to this story or my other one, just tell me in a review and give me your email address and I'll add you to my list…unless you already get the email, of course. Thanks!**

Luv ya,

Britz


	13. Tragedies & other depressing stuff

The Prince and the Pauper

(A Marauder Story)

Chapter Thirteen: Tragedy

A/N: Just to let you know, note about who Deana was for those who don't know at the end. And when I say 'Tragedy' I mean it…no comedy in this, it was all depressing…enjoy!

~*~

_Her friends followed her as quickly as they could, Sirius and James leading the race of kids, which is why when she stopped dead in her tracks, they nearly crashed into her._

_When they looked up to wear Lily was frozen in her steps, they gasped._

_There, gliding over towards Deana, was a black hooded creature._

~*~

"Deana!" Lily shouted, and ran towards the older girl. 

James quickly regained his senses and sent Melodia, Peter and Cass in search of the train monitors. Bella took out her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum!" 

Lily had read up on advanced charms, so she instantly recognized the spell as the Patronus charm. It was exceedingly difficult, and hardly anyone could perform it. Now, Bella was a great witch and student, but it was unexpected for her to have mastered it.

Lily leaned over Deana's still body. She was breathing, but there was a blank look in her eyes. Lily broke down in sobs. She'd been too late to save her friend. 

She tried to imagine Deana as she first met her. It was only a few months ago. She was full of life, especially when she made that bet with James and Sirius. That stupid bet, that they could out-prank that Weasley kid. Of course they could, she thought, but it hadn't been tallied up yet. 

"Lily, come here," Sirius said, and gathered her up and got her to sit on a seat. She was shaking with sobs and buried her face in Sirius' cloak. 

Bella, James, and Remus were crowded around Deana. Bella had gotten rid of the Dementor, but its victim remained. 

When the train monitor entered the compartment, Bella quickly explained the situation. A gasp was heard from the hallway, and everyone turned. There was Benny Weasley (whom Lily had interrogated) and two other girls. Lily remembered them to be Deana's dorm mates. 

"Dee?" Brown-haired girl asked tearfully.

"I'm sorry," the train monitor said.

"She's dead?" Blue-robes girl asked, trembling.

"Not dead," the monitor sighed. "She's been…Kissed."

Benny, his face pale, nodded. He took a deep breath and got Brown-haired and Blue-robes out of the room. With a last longing glance at Deana, who stared back impassively, he followed them.

The rest of the train ride was spent trying to coax Lily into explaining how she knew, and attempting to convince her that it wasn't her fault. When they arrived at the castle, Professor McGonagall was there to greet them. She then whisked Lily off to the Headmaster's office.

~*~ 

Professor Dumbledore was quite used to strange happenings. He had taken a liking to them, if truth be told. Uneventful days just added up to worthless lives. Besides, distractions made life interesting.

However, as interesting as some events might be, tragedy filled most of them these days. It was quite a shame. 

When he had been informed that a student had been Kissed on the train, it had kept years of practice to keep up his calm, in control façade he tended to wear. People looked up to him and (despite his hate for that) he needed to convince them not to panic. 

Deana Slate. Gryffindor Fourth Year. No reason to be targeted. No reason to have no soul. No reason to have no life to live. Her life was, however awful it might sound, over. It would almost be better for her to have died. If her parents make the right decision, they'll let that happen. 

He needed to talk to the spotter of this…which was Lily Evans. A Gryffindor First Year. A Muggle-born orphan, but extremely bright girl. Friend of the already infamous Marauders. And she'd be here…in a matter of minutes. Most likely a wreck. The poor child.

Dumbledore sighed. Fate certainly was throwing in some unexpected happening in his path of life, and for once, he wished it hadn't. He knew this would only lead to more awful tragedies…all because of one man.

Tom Riddle. Former Slytherin Head Boy. Half-blooded orphan. Extremely bright boy. Extremely stupid boy. Of course, he'd never been too fond of him, even as a student. One of these days he'd convince the Ministry of Magic that he, not Rubeus Hagrid, was responsible for those attacks a few decades ago.

A knock on the door interrupted Professor Albus Dumbledore's thoughts. 

~*~      

Lily entered the Headmaster's office. It was full of wondrous things and the best of all the professor's offices, but she hardly noticed.

If only she'd gotten there sooner. 

"Miss Evans?" a soothing voice said.

Lily looked up to find the Headmaster staring at her intently. She knew what he wanted-an explanation. That's what her friends wanted as well, but she couldn't give it to them. She didn't know herself what had happened, for one. And even if she did, how could they possibly understand.

"Lily, my dear," Dumbledore started, "I know it was hard."

There it was. Lily wanted to hate him for forcing this out of her, but it was hard. It was hard, because his awful statement _was_ true. He did know it was hard. He knew it. He knew it, yet he was still going to squeeze out the day's events. 

"I had a vision," she blurted out quickly.

"Did you?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. It was so awful…it-it leaned over Deana, and I ran, she was at the other end! Maybe if I hadn't stalled, hadn't asked her friend, but I did…it was too late. Bella did the Patronus, I don't know what hers was…but it went away, but he stole it! She's as good as dead, she's…" but Lily couldn't go on. 

Dumbledore stood up from his desk and went to the young girl's side. 

"What you need, my dear, is some rest. Go to Madam Pomfrey, get a sleeping potion. Your friends will be informed, Lily. Go on, you had a rough day," the Headmaster said to the young, shaking girl in front of him.

With that, he signaled for Minerva McGonagall, who was still standing in the doorway of his office. She nodded at him, and took the redhead by the shoulders and escorted her out of the office.

~*~

  
"Hey guys, have you seen Lily?" Melodia asked James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Cass. Bella was sitting with the other Ravenclaws at her table.

"No," Peter said, looking upset.

"Not recently," Remus said slowly, yawning in the process. He'd been looking rather ill lately. Melodia made a mental note to investigate once she found Lily's location.

"Nope," Sirius said after a moment, as he had been concentrating on getting the pet flobberworm he'd found into the girl-next-to-him's hair. 

Cass wasn't answering, and neither was James. Melodia sighed. It seemed the three of them were up for a game of major hide-and-go-seek.

"You two coming?" she asked, and Cass jumped up right away. James exchanged a look with her, and agreed. 

"Right behind you Mel," he answered, and ducked her fist as she yelped: "My name is NOT Mel!"

~*~

Lily, meanwhile, had just reached the hospital wing. She had straggled up slowly, and when she reached the matron at last, she collapsed on the floor. Madam Pomfrey gasped in alarm and picked the girl up right away.

Albus had said she'd need care, but this much, really? Madam Pomfrey tutted as she quickly checked the girl's temperature and other important things. She had a pulse, heartbeat, was breathing, not feverish, or clammy for that matter, she looked perfect. Which lead to one thing- she was doing it to herself. She wasn't physically ill at all. Maybe drained, but that would be gone with a bit of chocolate. No, this was purely psychological. She was forcing herself to a breaking point unconsciously. While right now it would seem normal, Madam Pomfrey was no amateur nurse. She knew exactly how this would end up-the poor eleven year old would take on the blame and slowly wear herself down to the point of it being a true physical condition. 

Which was most definitely a problem.

The matron gave the redhead a sleeping potion, which she needed help draining, and when it was finished the small girl went limp. She laid on the bed, still and peaceful of the moment. The nurse, with her own sort of maternal wisdom in her eyes, gazed at the sleeping girl.

"You'll have tough times in for you, sweet. Just you make sure you don't let them pull you down. Don't let them suffocate you. You seem the sort to fight it, Lily, so fight it. You are a strong girl, no sissy. Good luck, child."

And with a final look, she went quietly into her office.

~*~

"Where on earth has that girl gotten to?" Melodia asked out loud. She had been searching for three quarters of an hour already, and there was no sign of her friend. The Astronomy tower, Gryffindor tower, grounds, and library had all been covered and Cass had started to get fidgety half an hour ago. As James had warned her when it started, a fidgety Cass was no joke. She'd started just skipping slowly. Then speeding up and then slowing down, which normally wasn't annoying. But then, Cassidy Figg was an expert at bothersome habits. From there, she started counting doors. And as Hogwarts was a huge, magically inhanced castle, this was no easy feat. Afterwards it had slowly turned into humming. Humming nonsense tunes that got stuck in ones head. Right now she was on 'I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves.' True to its title, Melodia was so close to cursing Cass into next week while they were heading for the infirmary. She was clutching her wand tightly trying to restrain herself when James held up an arm to stop her from walking.

"What, James?" she asked him. It was then that she saw what he was looking at with wide eyes. Lily. On one of the beds. And she seemed to be dead to the world. Cass stopped her humming abruptly and ran into the ward. James and Melodia needed no further invitation and followed her hurriedly. As they came to a halt besides her bed, they let out three simultaneous sighs. She was alive. Breathing, at least, which was a good enough search for anyone. She opened her eyes slowly, and looked at them.

"Hey Lils," James said softly, and she just looked at him. She gave no sign of recognition at all, just stared at him. Her normally lively jade eyes possessed no emotions as she looked at James. He sighed and turned shortly. 

"Get Madam Pomfrey."

Cass hurried to obey, and within moments the matron appeared. She was looking concerned as Cass murmured to her the previous exchange. The nurse nodded once at Cass, and then said, "Lily, dear, how are you feeling? I expected you to still be sleeping."

  
Lily gave her a blank stare. 

  
"Lily, sweetheart, why don't you tell us how you're feeling. Maybe you're hungry for some food, we can get some sent up here. Or perhaps you want another sleeping potion?"

Once again she was greeted only with a vacant gaze. Melodia felt her eyes start to burn and looked away. The lifeless girl on the hospital bed bared no resemblance to the normally vivacious Lily she knew. She looked like, for all intents and purposes, a Kissed victim. Which wasn't right, as it was Deana who was Kisses. Not Lily….

"Well, sweet, why don't you lay down?" Madam Pomfrey said, and to her immense relief, Lily laid down. She then turned to her three shaken friends and with a nod towards her office she mouthed 'Come with me.'

James, Cass, and Melodia followed the nurse to her office and as soon as she shut the door they started speaking at once.

"Madam Pomfrey, what's wrong with her?"

"Is she okay, Madam Pomfrey?"  
"Lily's never like this, never, what's going on, is she sick?"

"Will she be okay?"

"What if-"

And then James made a comment that stopped the rest.

"This has something to do with the Dementor incident, hasn't it."

It wasn't a question.

The nurse sighed and answered, "Yes, Mr. Potter, it does. I believe that nothing is physically wrong with her. But she's mentally drained. She might get better, she might not. There really isn't anything anyone can do for her right now. She is doing this to herself, unconsciously, of course. She went through a lot…having a vision is scary, and the fact that she was too late to stop it…" she trailed off as she realized that she'd just revealed that Lily had had a vision. She hoped in vain that they wouldn't have noticed her slip, but Cass immediately pointed it out to the others.

"Wait, wait, wait…rewind a bit. Lily had a _vision?_ But she's no Seer! They test for Seers, even if you aren't aware of it at the time! My mum told me about it because-because my aunt was one. She died too, because of a vision…but, Lily just _can't_ be one, because someone would've _known._"

"Yes, and we all agree with you Miss Figg, that she is not a Seer, but she for some reason or another had this vision. She'll be staying here until she is recovered. You may visit her periodically, but not all the time. I'm very sorry girls…boy…but all we can do is make sure she's comfortable and hope for the best. You'd better get down to the feast; it's required that you attend, and you don't want Professor McGonagall to take points off Gryffindor already, do you?"

"No, ma'am," the three children responded. Cass and Melodia silently traipsed out of the room. With a last glance at the girl on the bed, James nodded to Madam Pomfrey and left as well.

~*~ 

The months were trickling by slowly. January turned into February, which led into March, and then April, as it always does. Day after day, week after week, the Marauders, Melodia, Cass, and Bella would sit with Lily, speak to her, and try to act normally around her in the hospital wing. When the Marauders planned a prank, Lily was always the first to hear of the plans. When Bella and Cass would fight, they'd always try to get Lily involved in it. Melodia sat humming a lullaby this particular April evening. Lily was sleeping, as she seemed to always be doing.

_"Good night my angel time to close your eyes_

_And save these questions for another day._

_I think I know what you've been asking me._

_I think you know what I've been trying to say._

_I promised I would never leave you,_

_And you should always know_

_Wherever you may go, no matter where you are _

_I never will be far away."_

Her mother was a big fan of a Muggle pianist and vocalist who sang the song, and Melodia had always loved this particular song. She continued on singing, feeling the comfort of the familiar melody.

_"Good night my angel now it's time to sleep_

_and still so many things I want to say_

_Remember all the songs you sang for me_

_When we went sailing on an emerald bay_

_And like a moon out on the ocean_

_I'm rocking you to sleep_

_The water's dark and deep inside this ancient heart_

_You'll always be a part of me."_

Her voice grew stronger and she sang out the next verse, all the months worth of frustration and hurt easing in the soothing calmness of the song.

_"Good night my angel now it's time to dream_

_and dream how wonderful your life will be_

_Someday your child may cry and if you sing this lullaby_

_then in your heart there will always be a part of me." _Her voice broke off, and she sighed.__

_"Someday we'll all be gone but lullabies go on and on_

_They never die that's how you and I will be…"_

Melodia turned, shocked, and stared at Lily. The girl had just sung the last two lines of the song. The redhead had tears on her face, and she said, "Melodia?"

Melodia gave a wild gasp of  joy and ran to her friend and wrapped her in a hug, rocking her as Lily broke out in sobs. 

"I'm sorry, Melodia, I'm so sorry," she cried. "So sorry."

"For what Lily?" the girl said, looking puzzled through all her joy.

"I'm just-sorry. I really am," she cried, and wouldn't say more than that. Madam Pomfrey, having heard all the ruckus the two girls had caused, dashed in to see what was going on.

"Lily! You're awake, and speaking, how wonderful! Miss Noches, if you don't mind, please go alert the Headmaster. You can gather your friends after and they may visit Miss Evans, for a short while _only_, she's been through a lot these past months."

"_Months?"_ Lily asked, looking shocked. Her face was bright red and she was still crying, although she was able to choke out her astonishment.

"Yes, sweet, it's been months…well, it's been three months. Today's April first. Your friends have been terrorizing the school all day. Why, we woke up at five A.M. to banshee singing, they've equipped Peeves with spray _cheese_ of all things, and naturally, he's been with that all day, 'decorating' students and staff alike! At lunch all Hufflepuff students started floating towards the ceiling, and they had to call in a Charms expert from the Ministry to help Professor Flitwick get them back down. And afterwards we had some irate Slytherins in here, screaming for me to get rid of their snake tongues and scales."

Lily giggled. That was enough for Melodia, who scurried out of the room in a hurry. Madam Pomfrey set about checking Lily out, and when she declared her better-although nothing was wrong in the first place-Dumbledore stepped into the room. 

"Why, Miss Evans, how lovely of you to finally wake. Your friends have been most forlorn these past months…though I suppose you've heard of the ruses they've been up to today, have you? Yes, yes…well, we're so happy to hear you've awoken at last. How are you feeling?" The headmaster's eyes were twinkling, and he smiled fondly at the girl.

"I'm fine Professor, honest. But sir! Melodia's parents, I had a dream sir, it was awful, and…" Lily started to whimper again. Dumbledore's eyes sharpened quickly. 

"What happened, Lily?" he asked urgently. The small girl looked up at him.

"I tried to stop them. Or at least scream out. But I couldn't, sir, and I was too late…"

BAM! The door of the hospital wing banged open, and in came seven students, three girls, four boys, all running towards the bed Lily was on. 

"Lily! You're okay, we've been so worried!" "How're you feeling?" "I can't believe—" "Is she—" "We're so glad—" "**I'm**so glad—" "Did you hear what happened to the Slytherins today?" "It's April Fool's Day, you know—" "Oh, Lils!" 

The pandemonium hit with true force, and for a moment all the children chattered on until one of them (Remus, actually) seemed to notice that Lily was crying, and staring at the window. 

"Lily?" he asked slowly, and they all quieted down and looked towards whatever she was eyeing. In the window was a black owl, that had a somber sort of respect in it, if it were possible for an owl to have traits such as that. Peter walked over to the window after the others were still watching it hesitantly. No one could explain the unease that had settled over them. The owl was carrying a formal looking letter in its beak, and as Peter opened the window, it flew inside and straight to Melodia.

All eyes were on the girl as she opened the envelope with a shaking hand. Lily's sobs were heard in the background. Melodia took out the letter and read it. As they all-the matron, the headmaster, the Marauders, and the girls-watched, her eyes widened with disbelief. She took a last look at the letter before dropping it and running out of the room.

Slowly Bella went and bent down to pick up the dropped parchment. She read it with a trembling voice.

_"Dear Miss Melodia Noches,_

_We regret to inform you that at six fifty-two this morning your parents were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The house was wrecked in the attack and the property and most possessions destroyed. Your brothers have been notified. The Ministry of Magic will be transferring your case to the Victims and Casualties of Dark Supporters (VCDS) office and they shall contact you with summer holiday living arrangements. If possible your extended family members will be to take your brothers and yourself in. A different arrangement will be made if necessary. _

_In the reign of terror, many wizards and witches will fall prey to the Dark Lord's schemes. United we shall overcome them. Feel free to send us any questions in a reply. We offer you our most sincere condolences for your loss._

_Respectfully,_

_Geraldine K. Horace_

_Ministry of Magic representative_

Bella looked up. "Someone should go after her." Cass nodded, her smile having dissipated the moment her sister had started to read. James and Sirius were frowning too. Remus and Peter looked somber, and Madam Pomfrey was clutching her face. Lily burst into a fresh bout of tears, and Professor Dumbledore alone looked calm.

"Why don't you and your sister do that now, Arabella. Boys, please go back to the Gryffindor common room. You may visit Lily again later. Lily, calm down, it was not your fault. I need to go speak to her brothers now. I'll see you all later on this evening."

He glided noiselessly from the room.

Bella and Cass gave Lily a feeble smiled and quickly went to find Melodia. Peter, Remus, Sirius, and James headed for the door after them, and were leaving as Sirius blurted out, "Lils, I'm glad you're better." James stopped in his tracks and looked at the redhead who was crying silently. 

"Don't, Lily." His voice was calm, and soothing, but Lily couldn't stop whimpering. "Please, Lily. Don't. It's not your fault, really. Look…I know what it's like to beat yourself up about things, so just…just don't. Don't, Lily." And without another word he left the hospital wing as well, with Sirius and Remus flanking his sides and Peter trailing just slightly behind him.

"I'll try, James."

~*~

James sat in a corner of the Gryffindor common room. By some odd miracle, the room had been almost completely empty when the Marauders arrived in it, a rare occurrence. He wasn't in the greatest mood at the moment, so the blessed silence was a gift at the moment. 

"What were you playing at, James?" Sirius asked seriously. (A/N: No pun intended, guys, really! Imagine reading this with a British accent so its less pun-y)

"What do you mean," James said, but it was not a very convincing question. He knew what Sirius was talking about. He should not have burst out in that. Although, in all fairness, Sirius was the one who had started it, saying he was glad she was awake. Which was innocent enough. Of course Sirius was glad. They were all glad. But seeing Lily there, crying and feeling all that guilt got him upset in ways most things didn't.  

"You know perfectly well what I mean, James. Listen, you know it wasn't your fault, right?" Sirius asked, not kidding around, which was saying a lot for him. 

"Drop it, Sirius," James said sharply. Remus and Peter looked up from their chess game curiously. (A/N: Anyone else notice that whenever you need character present you have them playing chess? Just wondering…)

"But—"

"Drop it! I'm going up to bed. You guys coming?" James asked moodily. Peter got up quickly and Sirius sighed as he walked over to the staircase. They three were about half-way up the stairs when Sirius said, "Hang on a tick. Where's Remus?" The clambered down the stairs quickly and went back to the common room. No one was there.

  
"That's weird," James frowned.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom or something?" Peter asked, but he looked doubtful.

"Well, in any case, he'll be back soon enough. Let's get to bed," Sirius said, and the two others agreed.

~*~

_Flashback to March (last month) _

_"Hey James," Sirius called out to his messy-haired friend. "Wait up for a minute." _

_The boys had just gotten out of Transfiguration class. Sirius had been kept late by Professor McGonagall. For some strange reason, she wanted to give him detention. He really didn't see why, of course. He had only been enhancing his Transfiguration skills by turning Snape's books into a porcupine that just happened to land on Snape's seat as he was sitting down. Honestly._

_James waited impatiently for Sirius to catch up to him. It was his turn to stay by Lily during her delirium. That's what they'd taken to calling it, anyway. Sirius finally was next to him, panting and wheezing as he fought to catch his breath._

_"What do you want, Si? I'm in a hurry. I had to insist that I had nothing to do with that stunt you pulled about ten times to roughly six fat Slytherins, I'm not in the mood."_

_*Well* Sirius thought. *Apparently not.* These days a lot of things had been getting to James, getting him angrier and less patient than ever. _

_"Look, it's about Remus. See, I'm worried about him. Like last month he was supposed to watch Lily that night, but he all of a sudden had this letter from home, saying his grandmother died."_

_"So? Sirius, if _your_ grandmum died I'd expect you to go home. Wait. It's you. Nevermind."_

_"No, really, James. And just last week he disappeared for a day, and when he came back on Monday he said that his cousin had gotten married and he needed to be there. When I asked him why he hadn't told us before, he got all snappish and said 'Sirius, I don't need to tell you my whole agenda.' Like I was some big pain."_

_"You are," James grinned, and Sirius smiled reluctantly. _

_"I guess I set myself up for that one. Still though…maybe I'm paranoid over nothing. But something is amiss, I'm telling you, James. You're my best friend, and I might be a prankster, but I swear over Andie's life, over Lily's…over anyone who has a worth that this is not just weird feeling. Something's not right."_

_"Sirius, you're getting yourself all worked up for nothing! "_

_"No, I'm not. Listen, I was trying to figure this out before…December. Remember we asked if he wanted to come early before New Year's, for Boxing Day, and he said yes at first. But then when it was time to come, he all of a sudden came down with the flu. January…we were going to go hunting for secret passages this one night, and he all of a sudden had detention. From _McGonagall._ Remus Lupin does not get detentions! And if he did, I'd have one too. So that was just rubbish. November…that was the month his dad was ill and he went home for a weekend and came back all tired. October…he left for awhile, claiming that his mum wanted to take a vacation to France to tour Beauxbatons, and that she was taking him with her. September…well, that was the first month we knew him, so I can't remember, but still. James, don't you see a pattern? Something. Isn't. Right."_

_James still looked unconvinced, but his eyes betrayed a slight ray of confusion. "Well, it's our friend. We'll just have to trust him. If something were really wrong, I'm sure he would let us know. Until then, we'll keep an eye on him. You can write a log if you want. I'm sure it's just a whim."_

_"Alright. I'll keep watching then. And I'll write down what I know." James nodded once at Sirius' reply and turned to head towards the infirmary. "And James?" He turned and looked questioningly at Sirius. "Yes?"_

_Sirius looked at him. "Don't stay there too late, okay?" _

_~*~_

James tossed and turned in his bed. He really couldn't sleep. He had a lot on his mind, and the last was whether or not he had passed his Charms assessment. It had been tough, but that was the least of his worries. He couldn't sleep, not at this rate. First, Lily had woken up. Which was great news. Than Melodia had gotten that owl…he swallowed. That was unexpected and horrible…he couldn't imagine what that must be like for her. He was sure Bella would tell him tomorrow. 

After that was his tense conversation with Sirius. He shouldn't have done that; he should not have spoken to Lily and said what he had. The past is the past, and there's nothing anyone can do to change it. You can either run from it or learn from it. (A/N: Yes, I'm quoting Lion King. It fits James' feelings, sue me)

Or so they say. But honestly, nothing was ever that easy. Life is full of shades of gray, wasn't it? Not black and white. Never. How he wished things were simple-good or evil. Morning or night. Happy or sad. Dead or alive. 

But it wasn't. James knew that. He was only eleven, true, but he had learned certain lessons the hard way. Ever since his mother had died he'd been left with half a father, as reliable as the winds. (A/N: Or my computer/printer. In other words, NOT VERY. How many author notes is this now? Leaving…) In other words, not reliable at all. He grinned slightly. A better comparison would be 'as reliable as the Cannons were likely to win the European Cup. Or even the League Cup. His smile faded as he remembered his mother…her memory was fading rapidly, at an alarming rate. He couldn't believe that he already forgot the sound of her voice, and if his father hadn't preserved it in a music box its melody would be lost forever for him. It was his fault she had died…he rolled over again. I won't think of that, I won't think of that…he told himself. But that's what he'd told Lily, wasn't it?

And lastly, there was Remus. Where was he this time? James thought back to the odd conversation he'd had with Sirius last month. True to his word, he'd been watching Remus, and this evening was another weird occurrence. It had to be close to two in the morning, and Remus had yet to return. As he told Sirius, James had written down the dates of Remus' illnesses, excuses, and disappearances, trying to find a pattern. What he hadn't told Sirius was that he'd found a pattern. One he didn't care to investigate. Because if it was true…well, then this whole situation was about to triple-at least!-in its complexity. 

IF the patterns were correct, and IF he hadn't been off, IF this wasn't just a coincidence, and IF his suspicions were true…then Remus J. Lupin was a werewolf.

~*~

Author's note: Whew! That was doosy. Is that a word? Anyway, I can't really apologize for the time this took for me to get out. I really can't. I'm truly sorry, and there's no excuse for it. You probably all hate me-if you do, it's my loss, I was the bad person in this case. I didn't mean to not write. It's just that I've been caught up…I mean, I last update in May *winces* and I was in study-mania. Then summer…well, I worked on ANV (which hasn't been update in July, which is bad again), and went away a lot, and well…I started a new fic. Which won't be out until it's finished, to copy Harmony Slytherin's example. And then school started, and with one thing and another…well, I never had a plot for this. I've been playing it by ear…eye…whatever. So, I'm sorry that it took this long, but I really could not help that. It's pretty long…13 pages of story, I believe. You guys were amazing as always with reviewing, and if you guys are still with me, sorry about that semi-cliffie…but hey, I have a weird fondness for 'em. 

***Ok, people, **EXPLANATION HERE!** Some of you had NO idea who Deana Slater was. Well…if you remember-and if you're reading this, you don't-she was a fourth year (?) who was friends with Benny Weasley and made a prank bet with them. Not a huge character. She wasn't the point, Lily seeing the vision was the point.  

*****ONE MORE THING!**Sorry, but I forgot…I'm sorry about getting rid of January-April 1st, but I had no inspiration. So that was my way of almost getting rid of the year. The next chapter will (finally!) be the end of year one. I'm excited. 

Thank you all:

***Angel*** *^* Sorry about that, yeah the date was pitiful…I'm terrible to you guys! Thanks for reading

**Ava orcon** *^* Good question. Why is Sirius the silly one? I don't know. He seems the type, doesn't he? And if he weren't, the Sirius-serious pun would go to waste, and we can't have that, can we? Lol

**Chaos/Rini** *^* I know, the movie wasn't that great was it? *knocks on wood as Movie 2 comes out in a week exactly* Hope you got this far and liked it!

**Cquill13** *^* Ok, you reviewed under Emerald Eyes, but I know you as this, so…yeah. Thanks so much for the review! Am I caught up with you or no? Let me know!

**~*Crystal Lily*~ ***^* Why oh why do I always have such a problem with your penname? I can never get the ~ and the * right. *sigh* moving on. Thanks for the review!!!

**Destiny Phoenix** *^* Hey! Sorry about the not-so-soon-ness of this chapter…maybe it's good? *smiles nervously* Right…thanks for the review.

**Diana Snape** *^* Hey Di. Thanks for the review. Did you ever wind up naming your pens? (Just wondering lolz) I need to talk to you…why, I don't know. I'm in the mood lol. Right, leaving…

**Dreamer the Mistwolf** *^* Ok, you changed your penname…what was it? 2 P's…2 P's…Saphire! Ha! I'm good! Thanks for reviewing!

**Elea** *^* Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked this!

**Harmony Slytherin** *^* Can you say short review? What am I supposed to comment on? Well, I guess I'll just say…MONKEYS! No, um, really…update your story?

**IluvHenry** *^* Do you now? Who's Henry? Lol. Sorry. *coughs* Right. You LIKE cliffies? Wow! *applauds* How original! Never heard that…thanks for reviewing!

**Jeanne** *^* Hey girl! I know I'm mean. It's natural. How bout YOU update, k? I love your story so hurry it up! Yes, I'm a hypocrite…ouch…wow…this is bad…lol  

**Lavender** *^* Well, you didn't get this far, but thanks for reviewing chapter one! Lol Bye Lav! *waves*

**Ley** *^* You win most creative review. Hey, I suppose I deserve the pitchfork. Scratch that, I know I do. Just make it painless, k? lol Thanks for the review.

**Lily's Friend Jess** *^* Wow! Someone read my BIO? I put it on hold because no inspiration came. Nada. But here's a new chapter. Can't guarantee how long it'll take for numero catorce.

**Lollipozz** *^* Thank YOU for reviewing! Hope you like this if you're still with me!

**Mage of Fire** *^* Thanks for the 'wrap' correction. I make a billion mistakes, I'll be the first, second, AND third to admit it! Hope you like this.

**Me** *^* I see your point about cliffhangers, and I agree one hundred percent. They suck don't they? Which is why I write them. Since I don't update frequently I end in cliffies that will make you consider reading this again when I *do* update.

**MidnightLily** *^* Not soon, but thanks for reviewing!

**Naavi** *^* OMG I'm so sorry I haven't written you OR reviewed you yet. I have a whole long excuse that I'll tell you later, I swear, I'm so majorly sorry! *Gets on hands and knees to beg forgiveness* Thanks for reviewing…

**Phoenixheart** *^* Slow? Are you kidding? More like molasses slow! Extremely slow! Up-to-chapter-thirteen-and-the-year-still-isn't-over Slow! Lol but I'm glad you like my story and that you've been reading this for so long…over a year since it started!

***~*Prongs*~*** *^* That took effort to type…grr…hmm…is she a Seer? I sort of left that hanging for now. Next chapter, most likely. If you're still here, hope you like!

**Puddles ***^* Glad you liked the chapter…hope you like this one! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**SAKURAnTOKYO** *^* It was good? Yay! *cheers* If you're still here, thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter.

**Sierra Sitruc** *^* I read a lotta bios! They're fun! Well, usually crazy in my case…although right now mine isn't, miracles upon miracles. That's 'cuz my friends haven't corrupted it yet…thanks for your review!

**Silent-wishes** *^* I stopped there because I'm horrible. Really. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I appreciate it so much!

**SPW** *^* Sorry for abbreviating. I'm lazy. You'll live. Thanks for the review chica…Hey! Niffler! I forgot about that! Wow, when you last reviewed, you were just telling me about that! Time flies…

**Star*dust** *^* *blinks* Wow…interesting review. Now, I just realized, that was when you  only just knew that NY does indeed have chocolate marshmallow ice cream. As does Pennsylvania, btw. Anyway, thanks for the review I'm glad you liked this.

**Woofyness** *^* One of the best? I'm blushing, but you can't have read much! If you haven't read Cassandra Claire's stuff, go to schnoogle.com and do so. If you have, check out my favorite list! You'll get better stuff!

Disclaimer: Billy Joel owns Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel). I love that song! Um…Lion King reference, I mentioned it…HP is owned by JK Rowling & Co. Anything else owned by anyone else was forgotten, and I obviously don't own them.

**BEFORE YOU GO AND HOPEFULLY REVIEW!**

Would you all kill me if in chapter…15 I skipped to 4-5th year? See, romance can start to brew then, and more stuff can happen, because inventing 7 years of nothing is dull and I want the plot to pick up desperately! Let me know if this is absolutely horrifying to any of you in a review! If not, I'll take it as an 'Ok, Britz, go right ahead…*dubious look*' sorta thing. 

Thanks again guys! I love you all! Sorry for the delay…*winces*

**Always,**

**Britz**


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